Disclaimer: The characters are the property of the amazingly talented J.K Rowling. I'm only borrowing the characters and world that she has so brilliantly created.
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Chapter Six: The Holyhead Harpies
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Breathe, I told myself. Just breathe. Deeply in…one, two, three, four…deeply out…one, two, three, four, five.
My whole morning had essentially passed in something of a haze. I'd had something for breakfast because Mum had forced me ("You'll need your strength!") but if questioned I couldn't have reliably said what it was I'd specifically eaten.
The one thing I did remember was Mum, Dad, Gareth, and Richard all wishing me well and giving me a hug before I'd Apparated to the Holyhead training grounds. Dad had left at the same time, for James's first day at Puddlemere.
Now I was seated next to Ellie Cooper while a representative from Holyhead named Kerina explained information regarding compensation, medical care, holidays, and worker's rights.
"Any questions?" Kerina asked, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. She spoke with a strong South African accent.
My mind was overflowing with information and buzzing with nerves. I couldn't have formed a coherent question if I'd wanted to.
"None that I can think of," Ellie answered, and I nodded my head in agreement. I was relieved to notice that her voice was slightly croaky. At least I wasn't the only nervous one.
"If you think of anything, my card is in your information packet," Kerina tapped the folders sitting on the desk in front of us. "Don't hesitate to contact me. I'm here to answer questions."
"Thanks," I told her.
She checked her watch, then smiled. "It's time for your tour, now. Then you'll be joining the team in the locker room." She stood up. "This floor we're on is all administrative offices," Kerina explained as we left her office and took a right down the hallway. From the portraits on the walls waved members of past Holyhead teams that had been League, European, or World champions.
She pointed to each room as we passed. "Marketing, sales, administrative assistant offices, Mrs. Pendergast's office, trainers offices, storage room, large conference room, small conference room. Stairs to the press box."
I couldn't help but notice that the Holyhead stadium and training facilities were set up similarly to Puddlemere's. It was so similar to what I'd always my expected my first day as a professional Quidditch player to be like, but with one obvious difference that I couldn't ignore no matter how hard I tried.
"So all of the training facilities and locker rooms are one floor down?" Ellie asked.
Kerina nodded and straightened her glasses again. "That's right. You won't spend much time on this floor, you'll be down there, mostly. The stairs are right here. There's actually two sets of stairs, front and back. The back ones are a bit narrow, so I like to take the front."
The Holyhead Harpies logo – a golden talon on a dark green background - was painted on the front wall of the staircase. The image was at least ten feet high. My stomach gave a little flip as we walked past it. It felt like a cross between nerves and excitement, but it was also a reminder that I was at Holyhead and not Puddlemere.
At the bottom of the stairs was another row of doors on each side of a long, curved hallway. The hallway seemed to keep the upstairs pattern of following the curve of the oval of the stadium above us. At the farthest curve, I could just glimpse the start of the tunnel out onto the pitch.
"Visitor's locker rooms, Joelle's office, Nada's office, main team locker room, main team training room, interview and meeting room, medical room, equipment storage, reserves training room," Kerina rattled off as we passed each one. "Reserves locker room."
She opened the door and ushered the two of us inside. Two rows of lockers ran along two walls, with long benches in front of each. The walls of the locker room were painted dark green, while the players' lockers were all painted yellow. Another wall featured several windows, which were clearly enchanted to reflect the weather outside and provide natural-looking light to the underground room.
"Here you are," Kerina motioned to the lockers on the far wall.
"My name is on there," Ellie breathed, clearly overwhelmed. "E. Cooper. My name is on a locker at the Holyhead Harpies. Merlin's socks!"
And there, on the locker next to hers, read, "E. Wood." My stomach flipped (yet again) and I found that I was smiling. This was really happening.
"The trainers and the rest of the team will be here in about half an hour, but we wanted to make certain that your uniforms fit properly and to let you acquaint yourselves with the space."
"Look at us," Ellie practically squealed a few minutes later as we stood in front of a large mirror.
"Holy hippogriffs," I agreed, staring at my reflection. I had worked so long and so hard for this moment, and now here I was, wearing the robes of a professional team.
The dark green uniform looked almost strange, after years of wearing Gryffindor red. Not to mention the fact that in all of my daydreaming about the future, I had been wearing navy robes. I felt a twinge of pain in my chest, but pushed it away. Regret and my dreams of playing for Puddlemere had no place in today.
This day was about my dream of playing professional Quidditch coming true and I needed to focus on that. Someday I would wear the navy and gold of Puddlemere and the Harpies would help me on my way there.
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"Welcome, officially, Eva and Ellie," Celestia Pendergast said with a warm and inviting smile, "to the Holyhead Harpies."
The other members of the reserve team applauded and cheered as Ellie and I smiled nervously back at them. The faces of the reserves players were all familiar but, as was typical for me, I couldn't remember their names. Except for Isobel Miller, but that was because of her mum being the author of the Infiltrator series. Even I wouldn't forget that!
"Let's have everyone introduce themselves again as a refresher," she suggested. "You should both know me. From here on out, you'll refer to me as Coach Pendergast."
"Joelle Smith, trainer for the Chasers and Keeper. Trainer Smith to you." Her long, chestnut hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail and her piercing green eyes carefully surveyed the room before her.
"Trainer Nada Alawadi," said an unfamiliar woman with olive skin and dark eyes. "Trainer for the Beaters and Seeker." She had a very posh accent.
"Siobhan O'Connor, Beater," had a very strong Northern Irish accent and stereotypically red hair.
"Teagan Hart, Siobhan's partner in crime," she nudged her fellow Beater playfully with her elbow. Siobhan grinned and shoved her back with slightly more force. The way Teagan and Siobhan interacted with each other reminded me a bit of Nico and Zara. The thought brought a slight lump to my throat and I swallowed hard, trying to bring my focus back to the moment.
A short girl with dark skin and black hair turned out to be Branwen Milligan. "I'm your fellow Chaser," she smiled. "I'm glad to see you two. It'll be lovely to practice with other Chasers again."
"Isobel Miller, Seeker." Isobel smiled shyly and tucked a strand of long, strawberry blond hair behind her ear.
"Annika Bauer," the last person introduced herself. "Keeper." She had light brown hair, green eyes, and spoke with a slight accent that I couldn't place.
"Ellie Cooper," Ellie waved enthusiastically at everyone. "One of your new Chasers. I think I'm somewhere between having a panic attack and being so excited I could burst, but I'm thrilled to be here."
Everyone else laughed, but I could only chuckle weakly. Ellie's description of her current emotions had sounded all too familiar. Maybe except the part about being thrilled. I was feeling torn about that.
"Eva Wood," I said. "I'm the other new Chaser, and I feel pretty much like Ellie described."
There was more laughter. "We're going to get on just fine," Branwen predicted with a knowing smile.
Coach Pendergast clapped her hands together. "Now, to business. As I'm sure Kerina told you, the reserves have the pitch in the afternoons, main team has it in the morning. I need to go work with the main team for a while. If you didn't know or hadn't noticed, we're short an assistant coach at the moment so I've got quite a bit on my plate right now. Trainers Smith and Alawadi will be working with you this morning."
"All right, enough chitchat," Trainer Alawadi announced. "The rest of you get your kit on."
After everyone was dressed, we moved to the reserves training room next door. Unless I was wrong, the room looked to have an extension charm placed on it. It was certainly bigger on the inside. The room seemed to be divided into two areas, one for weight training, and the other for cardio training. Along one wall were nine shelving units along the walls, each one stacked with a set of free weights, a mat, and large water bottle.
"We start off every training session with dynamic stretching," Trainer Smith explained to us as the others assembled themselves in a vague formation. "New recruits up front where I can easily see you. I need to make sure you have proper form in all of your stretches. We don't want any bad habits."
Gareth was a big proponent of dynamic stretching, and I filed this information away to for later when he asked me about my day. I knew he would be excited to hear all about the various types of stretches, so I did my best to remember the name of each one, although a few were new to me.
"Forward and backward lunges," called Trainer Alawadi. "Right side, forward first. Remember not to let your knee go past your toes," she added to Ellie. "Keep a ninety degree angle in the knee."
It was rather disconcerting having Trainer Smith and Trainer Alawadi watching my every move like a hawk. I was familiar with most of the stretches they had us perform, but it didn't keep me from being nervous about my form and balance. Once, when Trainer Smith walked by, I tipped dangerously to the side and had to windmill my arms widely to regain my balance.
"A lucky save," Trainer Smith commented with raised brows. "Try to stay upright."
I could feel my face grow warm with embarrassment, but I found myself smiling slightly nonetheless. Her statement sounded like the sort of thing I would have told one of my Gryffindor teammates.
"I'll try, but I won't make any promises," I replied.
We finished with two sets of twenty-five star jumps by which time my muscles seemed more than sufficiently warmed up. From there, we launched into a moderately intense cardio workout.
"We like to do a mix of cardio and strength training at every workout," Trainer Smith told Ellie and me as we completed a set of squat lunges (ugh, the pain). "We don't want your muscles to get too used to any one exercise routine."
At the moment, I failed to see what was so wrong with that idea.
"Next set!" Trainer Alawadi's voice rang out from the back of the room.
Out of habit, I glanced to the side expecting to make eye contact with James. Instead, I found myself looking at Siobhan and I was so momentarily surprised that I stopped in the middle of a lunge.
"Focus, Wood!"
Shaking my head ever so slightly, I pulled my mind back to the present. James wasn't here. None of my Gryffindor teammates were. I was training with the Holyhead Harpies.
The squat lunges were followed by push-ups and then side lunges with upright rows. Then we did a second set of each. Next came a cardio routine made up of three distinct parts, each ten minutes long.
"How are you doing?" Branwen asked over the upbeat music playing in the background to keep us moving at a specific pace.
"Okay," I huffed, feeling more than a little winded. Except for running, I hadn't done much cardio in the past. I would have to tell Richard that he needed to incorporate it into his training regime.
"It gets easier," Teagan chimed in. She didn't seem the least bit breathless as we started the second segment of the routine. "And on Fridays, we usually get to do something different."
"Like…what?" Ellie panted, as we all shuffled sideways to the right, then back to the left while making a rainbow shape with our arms over our heads.
"Oh, yoga or a dance routine," she replied. "Something fun, just to change things up."
Right now, a rest and drink of water sounded grand.
"No stopping," Trainer Smith explained. "We want your body adjusting. We want those muscles learning and strengthening."
"Push through the pain," Trainer Alawadi reminded us all five minutes later. Easy for her to say as she stood there watching Ellie and me suffer. "The pain you feel is your body adjusting. It's your muscles getting stronger. Citius et Altius!"
"Er…what?" I managed to ask.
"Latin," Branwen said, finally breathing hard. "Faster and higher….our training motto."
Ellie practically rolled her eyes. "More…like… dolor…et mori."
Branwen laughed, but I didn't have the breath. I had no idea what dolor meant, but I did know the meaning of mori: death. Which at the moment, seemed fairly truthful.
"Pain and death," Branwen clarified at my look of confusion.
I didn't think I'd ever heard words more accurate in my life.
Finally, we were allowed to collapse and get a drink of water. Both trainers were highly insistent on the amount of water we should be taking in during a workout, and came around to check our water bottles. Much to my surprise, the water bottles turned out to have refilling charms placed on them, along with spells to keep the water fresh and cool.
"Don't expect such a light workout every day," Trainer Smith warned us as we stretched. "We're taking it easy the first few days so you don't injure yourselves. Then the real fun begins."
Oh, holy hippogriffs. I put a hand to the cramp in my side. I had thought I was in excellent physical shape. So much for that notion.
"Isn't she a treasure?" Teagan grinned widely.
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Lunch turned out to be the biggest surprise of the day by far. Because Ellie and I were new, the entire reserves team was given an extra long break in order to give them time to become acquainted with us.
We pushed a couple square tables together so everyone could be a part of the conversation. Opening my lunch bag, I found a note from my mum. It was a thoughtful gesture, but I felt my face growing red all the same. My first day at my adult job and my mum had not only packed my lunch, but she'd written me a good luck note as well. Merlin.
"What's that?" Teagan asked as she bit into what looked like a hummus and tomato sandwich.
"Nothing," I said, trying to stuff the note back in my bag. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough.
"C'mon, we're supposed to be getting to know each other," Teagan insisted, grabbing the note right out of my hand.
"Leave it," Siobhan warned her fellow Beater. "Or she's going to learn you're a nosy sod."
"Better now than later!" Teagan gave Siobhan a toothy grin. "Aw, Eva, this is adorable. 'Good luck! You'll be wonderful, darling. Just believe in yourself! Love, Mum.' That's precious."
"Thanks," I mumbled as she handed me back the note. I was sure that my entire face was flaming red with embarrassment. I wanted to throw myself out of a window, except that we were underground, so it wouldn't have done me any good.
"My mum did the same thing my first day," Isobel admitted with a sheepish smile.
"Look at that, I've broken the ice," Teagan said proudly, "We're getting to know the young ones already. Clearly, I am a genius. You're welcome."
"Yes, harassing one of our new Chasers. You're just brilliant," Siobhan replied in a deadpan tone of voice.
I couldn't quite figure out the relationship between the two Beaters. Teagan was so over-the-top and effusive while Siobhan was rather subdued and snarky. Obviously, it must work on some level. I couldn't wait until after lunch when I would get to see them work together on the pitch again. I didn't remember much from my tryout. (Probably a result of my attempts to block the whole disastrous thing from my mind.)
"How long have you been on the team?" I asked Teagan since she had referred to Ellie and me as "young ones." I wasn't exactly a good judge of age, but she didn't look that much older than Ellie, and Ellie was only a year older than me.
"Three years now," she said through a mouthful of sandwich. She jerked her head to the right. "Same time as Branwen."
"We actually played at Hogwarts together," Branwen added. "Our seventh year, Hufflepuff won the Cup."
I had been a fourth year the last time Hufflepuff had won the Cup. Lorna, Sean, and I had worked well together, but the Hufflepuff Chasers had been much better. And to think I was now going to be a fellow Chaser to one of them.
"That was the year before I joined," Ellie piped up. "That Cup-winning match was what made me try out for the team. I'd always played for fun, but had never played on a team before. Then I didn't really think about playing professional Quidditch until my seventh year."
Three former Hufflepuffs…I wondered what Houses everyone else had been in.
"Ach, it's never a surprise to anyone that Hart was in Hufflepuff," Siobhan told me as she nibbled on something green and leafy.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ellie asked, looking rather affronted.
Siobhan looked surprised at the challenge. "I meant because she's so bleedin' cheerful all the time, not that she's a right head the ball. Even though she is."
"And it's no surprise that you were in Slytherin," Teagan joked while Siobhan just shrugged indifferently.
"What about you two?" Ellie asked Isobel and Annika.
"I'm the lone former Ravenclaw," Isobel said. "At least among the reserves."
"Gryffindor like you," Annika grinned knowingly at me. "I was a seventh year when your brother was a first year. I remember his tryout, actually."
"Oh," I said at the unexpected mention of Tristan.
"I had such a crush on your brother when I was a third year," Ellie put in, unsolicited. "Of course, he was popular and good-looking, and then there was me, who was neither of those things so I don't think he ever knew I existed. Not until I joined the Hufflepuff team, at any rate. Not that I cared about him by then. I actually thought he was – " she broke off, looking hugely embarrassed.
"An arrogant plank?" I suggested, the words slipping out of my mouth before I could stop them. It really was too bad that there were no windows to throw myself out of.
Everyone around the table looked torn between being shocked and mildly amused, but Teagan burst out laughing. "Oh, Eva Wood, I think I'm going to like you."
"I-I didn't…that is, er…" Ellie stammered. "I'm sorry, I…sorry?"
"It's okay," I said, somewhat awkwardly. "I mean, he's not always an arrogant plank. It's just lately…er, yeah."
These were people in the Quidditch world, and they knew what had happened with Tristan leaving Puddlemere. Doubtless they'd seen articles in the Daily Prophet or gossip in Witch Weekly.
"How about a new topic?" Ellie offered, her face still flaming red. "Um…I have a cat names Chester. He's adorable. He has grey fur with white feet and a pink little nose. He's very friendly, although he doesn't like my boyfriend much. But he generally seems to like women better than men. Chester, that is, not Éamon"
"Boyfriend, eh?" Teagan asked. "Is it serious? Not that I'm chatting you up you or anything. I'm sure you're very nice, but my girlfriend might object to me taking out someone else. I'm just your average nosy parker."
I nearly groaned when Teagan referred to herself as a nosy parker. Was I never to be free of them?
"I think so," Ellie smiled a bit shyly. "Éamon and I have been together since fifth year."
"You think?" Teagan echoed. "You've been dating the lad for four years and you think it's serious?"
"Don't mind her," Isobel smiled reassuringly.
"Well, we all know who Eva's dating," Teagan said, propping her hand in her chin as she looked in my direction. "Do tell all, Eva. Is James Potter your chosen one?"
"Oh, holy hippogriffs," I muttered, feeling the blood drain from my face. "You saw that photo in Witch Weekly?"
"Oh, Eva," Teagan gave me an indulgent smile. "We've all seen it. I was actually at that match, so I saw it in person, too."
Stupid, stupid Sorcha Patterson. Ugh.
"Really?" I asked weakly. Everyone around the table nodded, some more reluctantly than others.
"It looked very romantic," Isobel hesitantly offered, clearly trying to make me feel better.
It had been. It was probably the most romantic moment of my life. The feel of the rain drenching me, of James's hands on my face as he pulled me in closely, how his mouth had moved over mine, the euphoria of winning the Cup mixing with my growing feelings for James…
"My husband and I were on rival teams at Hogwarts," Annika told me. "Felix was one of the Slytherin Beaters and I was a Beater for Gryffindor."
"Ooh, was it forbidden love?" Ellie asked. "I adore a good forbidden love story."
Siobhan clicked her tongue at this question. "Ach, another romantic."
"Says the woman who just celebrated her fifth wedding anniversary," Teagan muttered not-so-subtly under her breath. I hadn't known her for very long, but I felt fairly confident that Teagan Hart didn't know the meaning of the word subtle.
"It rather was, actually," Annika said in answer to Ellie's question. "We both fancied each other from afar, and then one day he was the last one to leave after the Slytherin practice, and I was early to our practice—"
"All right, lunchtime is over!" Trainer Smith's voice rang out, pulling us all back to the reality of training. I, for one, was ready to be done with conversations about significant others. It just seemed to always end in embarrassment for me.
"Oh, but the story was getting really good!" Ellie protested. "Five more minutes?"
I wouldn't have wanted to be on the receiving end of the withering glare Trainer Smith fixed on Ellie. Frosty didn't even begin to describe it.
"No," she tersely replied. "It's your turn on the pitch. Let's see what you can do."
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"Well, how was it?" Mum asked as I walked in the backdoor. To classify what I was doing as walking was probably being generous. Stumbling was closer to the mark.
"Ow," I replied by way of an answer.
Mum made a sympathetic face, then said, "Sit down and I'll make you a cuppa." Because there was nothing that couldn't be cured with a cup of tea.
"Oh, an owl came for you," Mum told me, motioning towards my place at the dinner table. "Two, actually."
Picking up the top envelope, I immediately recognized the handwriting. Tristan.
I sank down into my seat and used my fingernail to slit the envelope open.
Hi Eva,
I know how rough the first day of professional Quidditch training can be. I don't think sore even begins to come close to the mark. I just wanted to let you know that I was thinking about you today and I hope your first day as a Harpy was brilliant.
Tristan
I couldn't believe Tristan had thought to send me a note about my first day. He was my brother and I loved him, but he hadn't really ever been what anyone would call a particularly thoughtful person. I hadn't even known that Tristan knew what day I was starting at the Harpies. I suspected Mum had told him.
"From Tristan," I said to Mum, even though she would have recognized his handwriting too. "Just saying that he hoped I had a good first day."
"That was nice of him," Mum said, unable to completely keep the slight hint of surprise out of her voice.
I nodded. "Yeah." Not that I hadn't felt badly that I had called him an arrogant plank in front of all of my new teammates, but now I felt worse about it.
The second letter was from Christine.
Eva,
I got the job at the Museum of Magical Antiquities! I don't start for three weeks, but I think the time will fly by. Let's have lunch or dinner or tea or something soon so we can talk about flats and you can tell me all about your first day with the Harpies! (I'm sure you were brilliant, I just want to hear how brilliant.)
Cheers,
Christine
I didn't have time to even think about Christine's note, because at that moment Richard and Gareth came running down the hallway, practically tumbling into the kitchen in their haste.
"How was it?"
"What was it like?"
"How was the trainer?"
"Did you like your teammates?"
"I'll reckon you were ace."
"If you would let her speak," Mum interjected loudly, trying to project over top of the twin's incessant questions, "maybe you'd have some answers."
Silence fell, then Gareth ventured to ask, "Well, how was it?"
"I'm incredibly sore," I began, taking a sip of the tea Mum had set down in front of me, "but it went really well. And I felt as though I deserved to be there. Unlike after my tryout." I told them all about the various stretches and workouts, and what the stadium looked like beyond the pitch, and also about my new teammates.
"Do you think she's single?" Gareth asked when I described Teagan.
"You're underage," I reminded him. "And you're not her type."
"What type is that?"
I fixed him with a look. "Female."
"Oh," his face showed his disappointment. "Rotten luck."
"Do you want to do some stretching?" Richard asked. He checked his watch. "I'm taking Lily to a Muggle film later, but I have some time before then."
"Nah," I waved him off. "I mean, thanks for the offer, but I don't want to overdo it. I think I'll just soak in the bath for a while."
A long soak sounded marvelous. As long as I didn't fall asleep and drown, which right now seemed a distinct possibility.
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Dear Tristan,
Thanks for your note. I really appreciate it.
I tapped my quill against my cheek as I tried to think of something else to say. Tristan's letter had been brief, so it wasn't as though I needed to write him a bloody novel or anything. I just need more than thanks.
I pushed my wet hair out of eyes. That long soak in the bath had done me a world of good.
Training was difficult, like you said. Remember how when Lorna became Quidditch captain back at Hogwarts and we all thought she was incredibly demanding? Today's workout make her's look like a laugh.
Hmm…what else was there to say?
I think I'm going to call it an early evening so that I can have a nice, long night's sleep. Merlin knows what tomorrow will be like.
Hope you're doing well.
Take care,
Eva
There. Done. That seemed reasonable, although it wasn't exactly filled with details. Now I just needed to track down my wax stamp and send off the note with Waffle. How I managed to misplace my wax stamp so often was beyond me.
Tap tap.
Looking up from my desk, I nearly jumped out of my chair. Sitting on the roof outside my window was James. Apparently, he'd been tapping on the glass to catch my attention.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, completely forgetting that he couldn't hear me.
He pointed to the window lock. Flipping the lock, I pushed the window up, allowing James to scramble inside.
"What are you doing here?" I asked again, as I stood up and made room for him to hop off my desk.
"What do you think? I wanted to see you."
"I was about to write you a letter and tell you how my day went," I told him, sliding my arms around his waist.
"I decided I'd rather see you in person," he responded before leaning down to kiss me.
James smelled like soap and fresh air, a post-Quidditch workout scent if ever I smelled one. Along with his familiar kiss, I found it a rather powerful combination. Our lips pressed together as one of his hands stroked up and down my back.
"You shaved," I said as I moved my mouth to his jawline. His skin was smooth and soft under my lips.
"Uh huh," he responded rather inarticulately. His free hand gripped my waist a little more tightly, sending delightful shivers down my spine.
"So you won?" I asked, pulling back to look at him properly.
"Won?" James asked, his eyes slightly unfocused.
"Your masculinity contest with Fred?" I reminded him. "Remember?"
"Oh, that," James broke out into a wide grin. "Yeah, I even have the photos to prove it."
I rolled my eyes. "Can't wait to see those."
"I'm wounded," James gave me look of false outrage.
"Doubtful."
"Doesn't it make you proud, dating such a manly man?" James teased, adding in a cheeky wink for good measure.
"Yes," I said in as deadpan a voice as I could manage when I wanted to laugh. "Can't you tell? I'm positively swooning over here." I placed the back of my hand to my forehead, imitating a dramatic reaction.
James smirked in response. "I'll give you a reason to swoon," he promised, his voice sounding lower than usual.
"What – " I started to say, but was cut off by James wrapping one arm around my shoulders, one arm around my waist, and dipping me back. I was so startled by this unexpected action that I grasped my hands around his neck and starting laughing.
"Why am I not surprised that you're laughing," James all but rolled his eyes.
"Sorry?" I offered.
My laughter was short lived though, as James punctuated the whole thing with a deep kiss that took my breath away and made my heart beat faster.
"All right," I acknowledged somewhat breathlessly when he finally pulled me upright. "That was swoon-inducing."
He placed a hand to his ear. "What was that?"
"You heard me," I said, not willing to concede any more than I already had.
A sharp knock on my bedroom door startled both of us. "Eva?"
"Just a minute!" I called out, then hissed, "It's Richard. Get in the closet."
"What?" James looked genuinely bemused.
"Shh! It's half past eight and I have a boy in my room," I whispered back.
"But I know Richard," James protested even as I pushed him towards the closet.
"Not in this context," I said and shut the door in his face before he could reply.
I ran my hands through my hair a few times and then opened the bedroom door. "Hey, how was the movie?" I asked.
"Fun," Richard said as he entered my room. "It was a spy thriller with a lot of explosions. It's amazing what Muggles can do without magic."
"Yeah," I agreed. "Did you pick out the movie or did Lily?"
"Me," he grinned. "She chose last time. Listen, I stopped by to ask if you needed any ice or a heat pack or if you wanted to do a little gentle stretching before bed?"
"Oh," I said, thinking quickly. "Yeah, a heat pack for my neck and shoulders would be lovely. Thanks."
Richard nodded. "I'll go find one and be back. And Eva? You might want to look in the mirror before you answer the door."
Oh holy hippogriffs.
The door shut behind him before I could say anything – not that I knew what to say, mind you. All I wanted to do was throw myself out the window. Instead, I dashed to the mirror over my dresser. At the same time, James emerged from the closet, clearly trying to hold in his laughter but not doing a very good job of it.
"Look at this," I pointed an accusatory finger at the pink mark forming on the side of my neck.
"Your hair looks nice," he grinned mischievously.
Despite my attempts to fix it before letting Richard in, I had clearly failed. If anything, I had probably made it worse. I looked as though I'd been just climbed off my broomstick.
"This is all your fault!" I hissed, attempting to keep my voice low.
"You were a rather active participant!" he whispered back, looking annoyed.
Okay, that was more than fair.
"You'd better leave before Richard comes back," I urged him. That was all I needed, for Richard to actually find James hiding out in my closet. Merlin.
"I wanted to ask you how your first day at the Harpies went," James said.
"Well, I wanted to ask you the same thing. About Puddlemere, that is. But I think we're out of time."
"Richard already knows I'm here."
I paused, considering this. Richard knew that James had been here, although he might not know that James was still here.
"Fine, but you have to go back in the closet until he leaves."
"Oh, all right," James relented with a huff, and allowed me to push him inside the closet again.
It wasn't a moment too soon. Richard knocked just after the closet door was shut.
"If you sit down, I'll make sure the placement is okay," Richard said. "Is one shoulder more sore than the other?"
I thought about it for minute as I flexed my neck and shoulder muscles. "I think it's evenly distributed. It was a very thorough workout. The trainers claimed they were taking it easy on us our first day, but I have doubts."
"I brought a spare heat pack in case James wants one," Richard commented so nonchalantly I almost missed what he'd just said.
"Sorry?" I all but squeaked.
Smooth. Once again, this just went to show that I could never have made it as an Auror, even if I'd wanted to.
Richard's acknowledgment was all the encouragement James needed to swing the closet door open and come striding out.
"You might want to remember that without magic, the walls aren't soundproof," Richard suggested with a slight eyebrow raise. He held out an extra heat pack to James.
"Cheers, mate," James said as he took it and settled it on his left shoulder.
How in the name of Godric Gryffindor could both of them be so calm about this?! One of my overprotective younger brothers had just discovered that I was hiding a boy in my bedroom, and all he did was offer him a heat pack and some friendly advice? What alternative universe was I living in?!
"Now we're even," James told Richard, whose face turned a brilliant shade of pink.
"Even?" I asked, not understanding the conversation happening in front of me. "What?"
"Lily," Richard said, as though stating the most obvious thing in the world.
When I continued to stare blankly at the two of them, Richard rolled his eyes and exclaimed, "Merlin's pants, Eva! He caught us snogging in the back garden. That's why we're even."
Oooooh. This whole ordeal suddenly made much more sense.
"Oh," I said. "Well, then."
"It doesn't mean I approve of this," Richard added, narrowing his eyes first at me and then at James.
"Oh, stuff it," I told Richard. "What do you think is possibly going to happen under Mum and Dad's roof?"
Richard seemed to consider this. "Yeah, okay. But still."
What kind of a ridiculous answer was that? Brothers.
"You can move along now," I said. "I'm properly mortified and once you both leave, I'm going to throw myself out of this window."
Richard cocked his head to the side. "What is it with you and always saying you're going to throw yourself out a window? You're a witch. It's not like you'd even be hurt."
"It's dramatic," I replied shortly. "Now, out!"
"I'm going, I'm going," he muttered as he pulled the door closed behind him.
"Ugh." I sank down on the edge of the bed and covered my face with my hands.
Why, oh why did these things happen to me? If anyone wanted a reason for my awkwardness, occasions like this were the perfect example. I was really beginning to think that my being an 'awkward soul' wasn't entirely my fault.
"You're making this out to be much worse than it is."
I lifted my head and fixed James with an unbelieving look. "You're not the one who's going to have to face Richard over breakfast tomorrow. And he's probably gone and told Gareth already."
"I'm going to have to face Lily over breakfast tomorrow," James pointed out. "I mean, I know Richard's a good lad and he respects her, but it's still bleeding awkward."
"Yeah," I agreed. "It is."
He nudged me with his elbow, clearly trying to make me uncover my face. "So tell me about the Harpies."
"It went well," I said, lifting my head to look at him. "I like my new teammates a lot. It definitely helped that I wasn't the only new person." I told him all about everyone on the team and the trainers and Coach Pendergast.
"The trainers are tough, but I don't think they're unreasonable," I said as I finished my long explanation of the Harpies. "I mean, I think they pretend to be a bit, but I get the impression that some of it's for show. What about you? How was your first day at Puddlemere?"
My chest tightened a bit as I said it. I had spent most of my life expecting to have someone ask me those words, not to be asking them. But despite the soreness, I'd had an excellent first day at the Harpies and I knew I had to focus on that.
"I'm the only new person," James grimaced ever so slightly. "Everyone else has been working together for two years, so it was definitely apparent that I was the odd person out."
"It'll get better," I assured him, running my thumb over his knuckles. "You've never had trouble fitting in."
It was something I'd always envied about James, actually, how easily he was able to get on with new people. I mean, I felt that on the whole I had done well enough today, but I'd also gone and accidentally called my brother an arrogant plank in front of people I barely knew. James just had an ease about him that allowed him to get on with almost anyone.
"Yeah, you're right," he agreed. "It was strange, though, you know? To be playing with an entirely new team. I kept expecting to hear Zara and Nico taking the mickey or you telling me not to be a prat."
That made me smile. "I missed our Gryffindor team today too," I admitted. "It felt so strange to look to the side to catch a pass and not see Bree or Lily there next to me. And to not see you. But I guess we'll have to get used to it."
James leaned over and pressed a kiss to my hairline.
"How was everyone, though?" I urged him to tell me. "Did you like them?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "Abbie Duncan – you remember, Lorna's older sister? – she's our Keeper and the reserves captain. She seems pretty no-nonsense so far."
"So rather like Lorna, then?"
Oi.
"Exactly like Lorna. Then the Chasers are Leo Hayward, Zafar Jaffrey, and Lilith Edmonds. Leo and Zafar are laid-back, but Lilith seems a bit high-strung, at least from what I gathered today. She's the new Chaser," he said, then as if not wanting to dwell on that fact quickly added, "They work well together, so far though, which is the important part. Matt Warwick and Genevieve Austen are the Beaters, and they're very in sync with each other. I actually got the impression that they used to date but I think they're just friends now. And then there's me."
"It sounds like a good team," I observed. I noticed he hadn't said anything about the trainers or coaches.
"I think it is," James replied. "Like I said, all of them except me and Lilith have been playing together for two years, so they don't just play together, they're all good friends."
"And now they have a brilliant, amazing new Seeker," I told him with a smile.
"Amazing?" he smirked knowingly. "You think so?"
As if he didn't know perfectly well what I thought of all of his various skills both on and off the pitch.
I poked him gently in the shoulder. "You know I do. You're incorrigible."
This only caused James's smirk to intensify. "And yet you're falling in love with me anyway."
"I think it was inevitable," I grinned up at him. "You're rather wonderful, despite your horrid taste in pie."
We were quiet for a moment and then I asked, "James?"
"Hmm?"
"I know I said today went well – and it did, I'm not saying otherwise – but…I missed our Gryffindor team. I missed everyone so much."
"Me too," he admitted softly. "I lost count of how many times I looked over to say something to you, and you weren't there."
It was such a relief to hear him voice what had been bothering me all day.
"After lunch we ran some flying drills," I explained, "and I kept expecting to see Bree or Lily. I mucked up a few passes because of it. I mean, I knew I would miss everyone, I just don't think I realized how much."
"Yeah," he agreed. "I know what you mean."
I snuggled my head deeper into his shoulder, comforted by our shared experience during our separate training. It was nice to know that I wasn't alone in this.
~…~…~…~…~…~…~…
"Before we start training today, we have something to get out of the way for our new recruits," Trainer Alawadi announced the next morning. Both she and Trainer Smith were smiling.
Ellie and I glanced nervously at each other. I wasn't sure if the trainers' smiles were ominous or not. From Ellie's expression, she was having the same thought. Behind me, I heard Teagan start laughing.
"You may be reserves, but you're still a Holyhead Harpy and there's seven other team members that you need to meet."
Did they mean…?
On cue, the door to the training room opened and Coach Pendergast walked in followed by the members of the main team.
"Everyone, these are new additions to the reserves side," Coach Pendergast motioned for me and Ellie to step forward. "Eleanor Cooper, she's a Chaser and spent four years on her House team. Eva Wood is also a Chaser and spent five years on her House team."
"Call me Ellie," Ellie cut in. "Hullo."
"Hi," I added. Logically I knew there was no reason to be star struck around my own teammates (what an odd thought, that these famous people were my teammates) but I couldn't help it when they were all standing there looking right at me. I didn't need them introduced to me, I knew perfectly well who they were already.
"I'm quite certain Ellie and Eva know who you are all, but let's have you all have introduce yourselves anyway. Angharad can start us off."
"Angharad Morgan, I'm the lead Chaser," she said in the thickest northern Welsh accent I had ever heard. "Glad you're part of the team, ladies."
The next woman had a Scottish accent very similar to Dad's. "Aoife MacSorley, I'm also a Chaser. I just moved up from reserves about a month ago."
Ah, so one of the people I was replacing, then.
"Hello, I'm Zoe Kington, and I'm the remaining Chaser. I also just moved up from reserves."
I tried to study Aoife and Zoe without seeming terribly obvious about it. I was curious about the two people that had most recently been playing with my new teammates.
"Katie Murray, nice to meet you," she said in a soft Dublin accent as she waved happily at us, then added, "Oh, I suppose I should say my position. I'm the Keeper."
"Hello, I'm Gita Bakshi. Seeker." This was said in a formal no-nonsense manner. According to the press, Gita was a bit abrupt and single-minded, but also kind, a good teammate, and an excellent Seeker.
"Hullo, I'm Niamh Mahoney, Beater." She waved at us from where she was standing slightly behind Gita. Niamh was extremely short, but I knew from seeing the Harpies play that she was a formidable Beater.
"And I'm Rana Ayan. I'm a Beater as well," she said with a warm smile and a Hampshire accent. "It's lovely to meet you, Eva and Ellie. Welcome to the Harpies."
Coach Pendergast started speaking, but I was so lost in thought that I barely heard her.
I was still finding this all somewhat surreal, being a part of the Holyhead Harpies. For one thing, it was strange to think that I was now a part of this group of strong, amazing women. Then there was also the fact that I had never anticipated being a part of any team but Puddlemere. Sometimes I looked up and was still momentarily surprised to see robes of green and gold rather than navy and gold.
If I was being honest, it still hurt that Puddlemere hadn't wanted me for their reserves. I knew that logically it shouldn't. I mean, I was a Harpy for Merlin's sake. I had nothing to complain about.
You're a Harpy, I told myself firmly. You're playing professional Quidditch. Be grateful.
But later I found myself wondering if James had met the Puddlemere main team.
~…~…~…~…~…~…~…
"Well," Christine said, looking at our pro and con list for flats. "We're down to two options."
"Landlady who's mad as a hatter or a flat on a busy street."
Christine fixed me with a look over her mug of tea. "Ms. Owens wasn't mad as a hatter."
Now it was my turn to give her a look.
"All right, she was a bit mad," Christine acknowledged with a sigh, "but she was pleasant enough. And I liked that the flat was off the main road."
I shrugged and took a sip of my tea. Both flats had been nice enough, and I didn't have a strong opinion. "I'm fine with that flat as long as we don't mind being called 'ducks' every time we see her."
Christine laughed. "I think I can handle being 'ducks' for the reasonable rent, back garden, and quiet location."
"Don't forget King Arthur the augurey," I joked. "He's a definite perk."
Christine chose to ignore this statement. "I can send Ms. Owens an owl saying we're interested in the flat, then. If she wants us, how soon do think we could move in?"
"Well," I said, thinking of my finances (or more accurately, my lack of finances), "preferably after my first paycheck at the end of the month. I mean, I have some birthday money put by, but that won't last long."
"Same," she agreed, thinking. "My job doesn't start for another two weeks, and I'm paid twice a month. Well, let's hear what Ms. Owens says before we start worrying too much."
Just then, the waitress came by our table. "Any more tea for either of you?" she asked glancing at our mostly empty mugs.
"Yes, please," Christine replied, while I shook my head.
"So," she said, one the waitress had gone. "Tell me more about your first week!"
"I've never been so sore in my life."
Christine made a sympathetic face. "That doesn't sound very fun. But are you getting used to the routine? You said it changes everyday?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "Every day the workout is different, so our muscles don't get too used to the same movements. I mean, that's good, but for the moment, it's difficult to remember everything. The others - well, except Ellie, who's new too – know what they're doing. Sometimes I feel like I'm just flailing around with a pair of free weights."
"That's a fun mental image," Christine laughed. "But you'll remember it all soon enough. And at least you have another new person, so you're not the only one learning."
"She has an insanely good memory," I shook my head, thinking of how quickly Ellie was at picking up the workout routines and the location of everything at the stadium. "She's way ahead of me at learning everything. But at least no one seems to be comparing me to her."
"That's good," Christine nodded. "I'm glad everything is going so well for you, even if it's not exactly what you expected."
She glanced at her watch and started slightly. "Oh, we've been here for two hours. I'm supposed to help Mum with dinner, so I'd better be going. I'll send an owl to Ms. Owens since I don't have much else to do for the next two weeks."
I drained my mug and pushed it to the edge of the table as I stood up. "Well, here's hoping she wants us for tenants."
"I'll let you know what I hear from her. I think we have a good chance, though."
"Same time next week?" I asked.
Christine smiled. "I'll put it on my calendar."
~…~…~…~…~…~…~…
Part of me had thought this day would never come, but thankfully, it had. Friday. I didn't think I'd ever been so glad to see the end of a week, except maybe during N.E. last year. Not that I would be inactive over the weekend, mind. I would still have to go running and do some stretching. But at least I'd have a little bit of recovery time.
"Cooper, Wood," Coach Pendergast greeted me and Ellie as we filed into the locker room. "Witch Weekly wants a brief word with you two before you begin your exercises."
"Us?" I asked, dumbfounded by the idea that anyone would want to talk to me about playing for the reserves before I'd even been on the team a full week.
"Yeah, we haven't even been on the sidelines for a match yet," Ellie added, looking just as confused as I felt.
"They have a small Quidditch section," Coach told us. "They tend to highlight all of the new players at the start of every year, just like other publications."
Huh, I'd never known there was anything about Quidditch in Witch Weekly. I'd always assumed it was just full of gossip, fashion advice, and the like.
Just then Kerina, the administrative assistant, popped her head into the locker room. "The Witch Weekly people are ready for you in the small conference room. We like everyone to make a good impression, so put on your official robes, and then I'll walk you up."
"Your first interview, how exciting!" Annika said as Ellie and I pulled our dark green robes out of our respective lockers.
"Any advice?" I asked. "I don't exactly have much to say yet."
"Oh, they'll just want to know some basic information," Teagan assured us. "And Witch Weekly doesn't exactly do investigative journalism, do they?"
"Yeah, this is just to help introduce you to fans," Isobel put in. "It'll be quick. And Kerina and Coach Pendergast will be there too, so there's really nothing to worry about."
Knowing that I wasn't going to be alone face to face with a reporter did make me feel somewhat better about the whole interview situation.
That was, until I walked into the small conference room and saw who was waiting for me.
"Eva!" Sorcha Patterson greeted me with a wide smile as she bounded over to give me a tight hug.
Oh, holy hippogriffs.
"Sorcha," I replied weakly as she stepped back.
"You didn't remember that I got a job at Witch Weekly, did you?" she asked with a knowing smile.
"No," I answered truthfully.
Merlin, how could I have forgotten something like that? Ack. Of all the people who could be interviewing me, it was going to be Sorcha.
"That's just like you, Eva," she laughed. Then she turned to everyone else and said, "Sorcha Patterson, Witch Weekly Quidditch Correspondent. It's nice to meet you all."
"You know each other, I see," Coach Pendergast observed, clearly curious.
"We were both Gryffindors at Hogwarts," I quickly explained, in the hope that it would keep Sorcha from mentioning her obsession with my dad. "Same year."
"I'm her dad's biggest fan," Sorcha added with her usual manic smile.
Well, so much for that hope.
Introductions were made, then Ellie and I were seated across from Sorcha at the table while Kerina and Coach Pendergast sat at the far end.
"We'll start with you, Ellie," Sorcha said, taking a quill out of her bag. She set the quill upright against a piece of parchment and tapped it gently with her wand. "Transcription spell. Now, how long have you been playing Quidditch?"
"Well," Ellie started out nervously. "I'm muggleborn, so I never knew Quidditch existed before I went to Hogwarts. But I'd always like sport. And then I saw my first match…and I knew I had to learn how to fly. I joined the Hufflepuff team my fourth year."
"What about you, Eva?" Sorcha asked. "Even though I think I know the answer to this."
"I joined the Gryffindor team as a reserve in my second year and made main team in third. But I grew up playing because – " I paused, not wanting to name drop my own dad. "Because of my family. Everyone plays Quidditch."
"Especially your dad – Oliver Wood – right?" Sorcha prompted.
"Yes," I allowed. I couldn't very well have said no to a direct question, now could I?
"Ellie, when did you know you wanted to play professionally?"
"Not until my seventh year, actually." Ellie sounded more confident now. "I had thought about going into potions work, but then I was invited to tryout for some reserves teams, and I thought I'd give it a try."
"But you weren't initially offered a place, is that right?"
Ellie nodded. "I thought I'd give it one more chance this year, and here I am!"
Sorcha smiled warmly. "Well I'm glad things worked out for you. Same question, Eva."
Pff. When had I not wanted to play professional Quidditch?
"All my life," I said, shrugging my shoulders a bit. "I've never wanted to do anything else."
"Because of Oliver Wood?"
I sincerely hoped all of her questions weren't going to somehow manage to include my dad.
"Not exactly. I mean, he certainly inspired me to love Quidditch and to play, but so did my mum. I made the decision to play professionally on my own."
"What was it like growing up with a Quidditch star for a father?"
That brought me back to the first time I'd met Sorcha – she'd asked me the exact same question. I hadn't known then what a lunatic she'd turn out to be. Oh, to be so young and naïve again.
"He was just Dad," I said, telling her something similar to what I'd said the first time. "For a long time I didn't even know he was famous. He's very down to earth and normal. Our family talked about Quidditch more than most families, I expect. But that's also because of Mum."
The thought of my mum suddenly gave me pause. Was she going to come and interview me for Quidditch Weekly?
"You're both Chasers, correct?" Sorcha asked, glancing over at the parchment resting next to her on the table.
"That's right," Ellie answered for both of us while I nodded.
"Just a couple more quick questions – general stuff, you know, to help readers get to know all of the new players in the league. Favorite musical act?"
"I've got so many, I couldn't pick one!" Ellie laughed. "But my top favorites would have to be, Random Band, The Duo of Arthur and Merlin, Maureen Kelly, Wizard Jones and the Great Horned Toads, and of course, the Weird Sisters."
"I'd probably have to say the Weird Sisters as well," I said. "But I like The Duo of Arthur and Merlin a lot."
"Favorite book?"
Now this was one question for which I had an easy answer!
"The Infiltrator series, by Elizabeth Miller."
"And now you play with the real Isobel," Sorcha commented as she laughed. "That's quite ironic."
Ellie smiled as well. "My all-time favorite book is Night on the Knight Bus."
"Name a few hobbies for me."
Er…aside from being my job now, Quidditch rather was my hobby. I would definitely let Ellie answer this one first to give myself time to think.
"Listening to music, obviously," Ellie began thoughtfully. "But I do a lot when I'm not playing Quidditch. I read quite a bit, I jog, I help at a kneazle rescue, my boyfriend is trying to teach me Gaelic, and I like classic Muggle films."
"Wow," I found myself unintentionally saying. My practically-nonexistent hobbies were going to look rather pitiful in comparison to that list. "Um…well, I like to go running. And I read a bit. Er, honestly, I think I need some hobbies outside of Quidditch."
Definitely hadn't meant to say that out loud, but it was true.
"Well, of course," Sorcha said, "Things are bound to change now that Quidditch is your job and not your hobby like it was at Hogwarts. I've actually taken up knitting now that we've left Hogwarts."
"That's…great," I said, hoping that she wasn't doing anything weird like knitting jumpers with my dad's face on then. Who knew what that girl did in her free time.
"Last question," Sorcha announced, much to my intense relief. "What Quidditch players have been an inspiration to you?"
"Oh, loads," I said immediately. "I mean, obviously my dad, but also Dai Llewellyn, Gwenog Jones, Darren O'Hare, Catriona McCormack - the list could go on."
"Definitely Gwenog Jones," Ellie nodded with a faint smile. "And Gwendolyn Morgan."
Well, thank goodness this was over. I stood up and stretched my still-sore arms in front of me.
"Oh I forgot!" Sorcha cried and motioned for me to sit back down. "I have an extra question for Eva. What's it like dating a fellow Quidditch player?"
I knew this was too good to be true.
"Sorcha, I've been dating a fellow Quidditch player since February," I pointed out. "It's not anything new."
"But you're a professional now," she insisted with all of her usual eagerness.
"We've only been on our reserves teams a week. It's a bit early to tell."
She pulled a disappointed face. "I'll ask you next time we chat, then. You'll have been playing longer by then."
Oh, joy of joys. Wouldn't that just be an absolutely smashing thing to look forward to?
"Hooray," I intoned, before remembering that I was talking to Sorcha Patterson the Witch Weekly correspondent, not Sorcha Patterson my mad as a hatter, lunatic dorm-mate. Lovely, the transcription quill had probably recorded my comment.
"You did splendidly for your first interview," she told me, ignoring my snarky remark. "You too, Ellie. It was nice to meet you and I look forward to interviewing you again."
Sorcha slung her bag over her shoulder and strode to the door. Before she opened it, she tuned back and said with a wide smile, "Oh, Eva, I forgot to tell you - I'm interviewing James later today!"
Well, that in no way boded ill.
~…~…~…~…~…~…~…
"Dad?" I asked as I knocked on the open door to his study.
"Come on in, Eva," he told me. "You know you don't have to knock."
"I kind of have a Quidditch question," I told him, settling into the chair sitting in front of his desk. "About interviews."
He nodded knowingly. "I thought you might. I heard from James and that Witch Weekly reporter that you had your first interview this morning."
"I didn't think to ask before, but…" I paused as I searched for the right way to ask. "What do you want to me say when they reporters ask about you? I mean, Sorcha didn't ask that much about you – which was surprising since she's obsessed with you –but even questions that would be normal for anyone else are different for me."
A smile pulled at Dad's mouth. "She was…er…rather enthusiastic."
"Ugh," I dropped my head into my hands.
"Listen, I trust your judgment when it comes to answering interview questions, Eva."
Well, that was nice, but it didn't change the fact that I wasn't sure I trusted myself. After all, I did have a habit of awkwardly blurting out things I shouldn't.
"She asked what it was like to grow up with you as my dad," I explained. "I told her that you were just a normal dad and that for a long time I didn't even know you were famous. And I made sure to say that Mum was also an influence on my love of Quidditch."
Dad folded his hands in front of him on the desk. "That's a good answer. What are you worried about?"
"Will other reporters be pushier? Want to know more personal information"?"
"It's possible," Dad said honestly. "I've had reporters ask just about everything you can imagine. Though as a woman, I'm sure you'll be asked things I never was, like about clothes and makeup and such."
Yay, something to look forward to, then.
"I can tell you…" Dad started then paused. "You and James will be asked a lot of questions about each other, and each other's families. Reporters will no doubt take the opportunity to ask what you think of Harry and Ginny and their family. And James will probably be asked about how he and I get on."
"I wish I didn't have to worry about this," I told him, unable to keep my frustration from my voice. "Why can't I just do what I love without anyone making a fuss about my personal life?"
"It's part of being in the public spotlight," Dad replied with a slight sigh. "And leading a private, down-to-earth life does a lot to help keep reporters from asking too many questions."
I thought about the example that my own family had set for me. Mum and Dad lived about the most down to-earth life I could imagine. I mean, they went to Quidditch and charity functions and press meetings, but generally speaking, that wasn't exactly thrilling.
"Reporters aren't all bad, though," Dad said with a smile as he looked past me at the doorway.
"I should hope not," Mum answered with a laugh. "Seeing as you married one. Although I like to think of myself as an editor and journalist these days."
"You wore me down," Dad joked. We all knew that he had been the one to wear down Mum and not the other way around.
"Joking aside," Mum said, "You're not obligated to answer every question that's ask of you. Politely say you don't want to discuss the issue or that you have no comment. Not every reporter will like that answer, but stay firm. And remember that at least in formal interviews, there will be Harpies staff in the room with you to can help with troublesome reporters."
"Even if your first few interviews are a bit rough, that's okay," Dad reminded me. "Not many people start out brilliant at interviews. There's a learning curve." He cleared his throat a couple of times, the said a bit gruffly, "I'm glad that you decided to come talk to me about this."
I must have looked slightly confused, because Mum smiled warmly at me and said, "We know you like to stand on your own two feet and do everything on your own when it comes to Quidditch Eva, but there's no shame in asking for advice or help when you need it."
"Thanks," I told my parents with a feeling of relief. "This helps loads. Really."
Nothing could ever really help me prepare for being interviewed by Sorcha Patterson, but at least I felt better about any other future interviews. Mum and Dad were right – I didn't want anyone saying that my Quidditch career was thanks to my parents, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad to ask for help more often.
~…~…~…~…~…~…~…
A week later, I stared at the latest issue of Witch Weekly in my hands. Sorcha's article of her interview with James stared back at me.
"I thought you'd want to read it for yourself," he told me, looking a bit sheepish. "I didn't want anyone mentioning it without…well, without you knowing about it."
I regarded him carefully. "That sounds suspicious. What did you say to her?"
"Just read it," he sighed heavily with an air of resignation.
I scanned through the first part of the interview, reading questions that I already knew the answers to. Favorite band, hobbies, Quidditch inspiration. But it was the last two questions that caught my eye.
SP: As a lot of people know, you're dating Harpies reserve player, Eva Wood. What's it like dating a fellow Quidditch player?
JP: Eva and I played at Hogwarts together on the Gryffindor team for years, so dating a Quidditch player isn't new to me. But Eva's brilliant. We're both equally dedicated to Quidditch and it's great that we can talk in such depth about this sport we love. We have a lot in common and make each other laugh.
SP: It sounds like things are serious between you two?
JP: Well, we're only eighteen, but yeah, I'd say it's a serious relationship.
SP: Well, as someone who went to Hogwarts with both of you, I can tell you you're meant to be together. I'll even go on record saying that before the end of five years, you two will be engaged.
JP: It's a possibility.
SP: Well, thanks for sitting down with us today, it's been great talking to you again.
I looked up from the glossy magazine and stared at James, feeling as though my eyes were about to bug out of their sockets.
"It's a possibility?!"
~…~…~…~…~…~…~…
Thank you for all of the lovely reviews, favorites, and story alerts – and of course for your infinite patience! I appreciate everyone who reads my story and everyone who has let me know how much they enjoy it! And a special thanks to my beta, blue and gold, for the helpful suggestions and fabulous beta abilities.
Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Favorite quotes? I'd love to hear what you thought!
Next chapter: James and Eva have a talk, the new Hogwarts term begins, and James and Fred struggle to cook.