AN: As hard as I try, I won't be perfect. So please! Tell me what I can do to improve!
5 - The First Week
"Are you sure it's this way?" Asher asked, running up to Sean, who had led him down a long corridor filled with suits of armour.
"Oh, quiet. I know where I'm going."
The two first years turned one last corner and began heading toward a large door at the end of the corridor, where Sean pushed the door open.
Instantly they were met with a dozen pairs of eyes, all belonging to sixth-year students.
"I told you we were going the wrong way." Asher leaned in and mumbled into Sean's ear, who looked sheepish and was blushing.
At the back of the room, Chase stood up and jogged over to them.
"Are you guys lost? Do you need my help finding your class?"
Quietly, Asher and Sean nodded, and Chase turned around, giving a look to the teacher, Professor Flitwick, before escorting the two boys from the room.
"So, what class do you guys have?" He asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.
"Erm, we have History of Magic. I knew it was on this floor…" Sean started, and Chase perked up.
"Oh, well you were close. See that door down there, by the big mirror?" Chase pointed down the corridor, to a large door beside a mirror. "That's the hospital wing. To the left of that there's a corridor. At the end of that is your class. Have fun." Chase smiled, and the two first-years began making their way to the mirror.
Sure enough, to the left of the mirror was a corridor, which the two went down, and entered the door at the end to meet the gazes of fellow first-year Ravenclaws.
"I was worried you two had gotten lost for a second there." Liz spoke up, waving at the two of them from the other side of the room. Sean and Asher made their way over, sitting on both sides of her.
"I heard that Professor Binns, the teacher for this class, is really boring. He can't be that bad, can he?" She asked, flicking her quill toward the direction of a ghost at the front of the class.
"I heard that he died while he worked here, but he was so in the rut of his day that he didn't even notice." Sean said, triggering laughter from Liz and Asher.
The class, as expected, was incredibly boring. The professor droned on for the period, and nearly every student was falling asleep. The only two that weren't were Thad and Liz. Thad spent the entire lesson taking notes, and Liz was too busy doodling on her paper to care.
Sean and Asher decided to follow the others to their next class, to ensure they didn't get lost again. Tailing closely behind Julian and Levi, the group of Ravenclaw students walked into their next class, Potions, to see that there were Gryffindor students in the class as well.
A man slowly made his way I the door when all the students were settled, Gryffindor on one side, and Ravenclaw on the other.
"Okay students, today we will be taking down the recipe for a wart-reducing potion. I know how big rivalry can get between houses, so I'm going to pair you up with someone from the other house."
There was a collection of groans.
"Oh, come on, it won't be so bad. Let's see. I'm not one for last names, so I'll call you by your first, listen up now."
Everybody stood, and gathered their things as the professor glanced at them.
"You, Flint, I think that's your name… you're with this boy here," The professor said, putting his hand on Thad's shoulder. "Asher, I'll put you with Olivia over there, and Levi, you go with Darren at the back there."
The professor continued to assign partners, until everybody had been assigned. The partners all brought their things to a table and sat down.
"Now, whenever your two houses have class together, I expect you to be with your partner. No exceptions."
Asher glanced over at Sean, who was sitting quietly beside a boy with blond hair. He recognised him as Seth, one of the first kids sorted into Gryffindor. He was tall, for an eleven year-old, with bright blue eyes. He was giving Asher a look of distaste, so Asher looked over to Liz.
She was sitting beside another girl, with long curly black hair. He didn't remember her name, but he knew she didn't smile often.
Looking back over at his own partner, Asher smiled. She had light brown hair, held up in a ponytail, and was smiling while looking through her textbook. Olivia seemed like a nice person, so Asher thought that maybe, just maybe, he would grow to like this class.
They took down the note, without saying more than a few words to each other, but Olivia never stopped smiling. When the class was over, the Ravenclaws made their way to their final class of the day; Herbology.
"My partner is sweet! He likes everything I do! I may have made a new best friend, sorry Julian, sorry Thaddy-kins." Levi was beaming, and laughing at the pout on Julian's face.
"How about you, Thaddy-kins. Do you like your partner?" Levi asked, nudging the book in his hands slightly, so Thad made eye contact with him.
"He's… nice, I guess. We didn't really talk much… He let me borrow a quill…" Thad mumbled shyly, and Levi nudged him in the side.
"Oh come on, you need to stop being so reserved! Let loose a little!" Levi began swinging his limbs in all direction, prompting laughs from most of the group, save Thad.
"Seth, my partner, was pretty quiet. He didn't even bother looking at me." Sean mumbled, and Julian laughed.
"Aww, maybe the little Gryffindor just doesn't like us?"
"Dude, have you seen him? He's not little." Levi quipped.
"I know! We should curse him or som-" Julian continued on, but Asher tuned him out.
Stepping out of the castle, Asher got a good look at the Quidditch pitch. The grass was a nasty shade of orange, but he could see the giant figure of Hagrid moving around it, scattering what looked like salt onto it.
Making their way into Greenhouse One, the Ravenclaw students sat down at their benches when the Professor, a small pudgy woman, began to tell them about the different uses for magical plants.
Making their way back into the castle, hours later when the lesson was over, Asher trudged his way with the others back into the common room, where they waited a bit for dinner to be ready.
"Alright guys, dinner is starting soon, better get a move on. The first couple weeks dinner is mandatory, but from then on you can do whatever. Make sure you keep up with your nutrition though!" Chase was calling to them as he led them out of the common room and down to the Great Hall.
When they were there, they pigged out on as many things as possible, and it just kept coming. Asher briefly wondered where all the food was coming from, but a large turkey appeared on the dish near him, so he reached out toward the distracting meat.
The next few days passed similarly, going to their classes and then dinner afterward.
Transfiguration class with his dad was interesting, as he, Thad and Sean were the only ones capable of transfiguring their match into a needle on the first try. His dad awarded them ten points, and sent the class on their way.
On the seventh day of term, the Headmistress, McGonagall, tapped her spoon to her glass, gathering the entire hall's attention.
"I would just like to say, that it has come to my attention that Hagrid has dealt with the infestation at the Quidditch pitch, and practices may resume as previously scheduled."
The entire hall broke out into cheers, and McGonagall tapped her glass again.
"However, I know that the first-years are anxious to get to their flying lessons, so I have a proposition."
The hall settled into quiet murmurs, and the headmistress spoke up again.
"My proposition is that the first-years have their first practice immediately following this dinner, and that anybody who wishes, may come to watch."
All eyes turned to the first years, and they silently nodded. The hall broke into applause, as the prefects began ushering the first years to the pitch.
"We will have some extra staff, as we don't usually have all the students learning at once. Any students wishing to watch should wait in the stands."
"I don't believe this! This is gonna be awesome!" Sean was shouting, hitting his fist in the air as they carried their brooms onto the pitch. On the stands were hundreds of eager students, and Asher noticed four older-looking students waiting with a few teachers out on the field. They were dressed in colourful robes.
The first one, a boy, was clad in yellow and black, and he shook the hands of the Hufflepuff students and introduced himself as the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain.
Asher glanced over at the boy in blue and bronze, and sure enough, it was Damon; the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain.
He quickly came to the conclusion that the girl in red was the Gryffindor captain and the girl in green was Slytherin's.
Among the captains were three teachers. One, was an woman with spiky grey hair, and yellow hawk-like eyes. The teacher standing to her left was one Asher didn't recognise; a woman with long black hair. To her left was Asher's dad, wearing similar robes to that of the Gryffindor captain.
"Alright first years," The hawk-like woman spoke up, "my name is Madam Hooch, and I, along with Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher, and Professor Wood, will be teaching you the important skill of flying a broom."
She gestured to the captains, "Your house captains will be here to assist you if you need anything, and will be eyeing for talent. We're a little short on players this year, so we will be allowing first years to play, with certain restrictions."
The Quidditch captains waved and smiled, and Asher looked past them, into the stands, and noticed groups of students wearing coloured robes as well. They must be the Quidditch teams, well, what part of them there is.
"Alright. Place your brooms on the ground on your right."
The students did as told.
"Now hold your right hand over the broom, and say; Up."
As the students did as they were told, Asher's dad spoke up. "It's said that those who can do this effectively make good flyers. Keep that in mind. Practice."
On the first attempt, three students were able to get their brooms in their hands, and their captains took names accordingly. After a few tries, Asher's broom shot into his hand, and he smiled over at his dad, who smiled back.
He glanced over at the three students who had succeeded on their first try, and tried to remember their names.
The first was a Slytherin boy, with silver hair and a cocky smirk. He had green eyes, and was looking around at the other students. The second was a Gryffindor girl, who he recognized easily as Olivia, and he smiled to her.
It surprised Asher slightly at who the third was. To the left of Olivia, was Thad, standing with the broom in his hand. Asher gave him a look and he smiled weakly.
"I read about techniques once…"
As soon as Thad trailed off, the broom to his left snapped into the air and into the hands of its student, startling him. He glanced over to see who it was, and Flint was standing with a wide smile on his face.
"Thanks Thad, for the advice." He grinned sheepishly, and Thad only grinned weakly and looked away.
"Now, mount your brooms." Madam Hooch instructed, and each student did so. He captains were writing things down quickly, trying to take in their postures and they stood with their brooms.
"When I blow my whistle, I want you all to kick of lightly from the ground, move forward, only a little, and then touch back down."
The students nervously waited, and then the whistle blew.
Asher kicked off the ground, and tilted the broom's tip downward slightly, and the brooms moved. He touched back down to the ground with a smile.
Looking up, he saw Thad already standing a few yards ahead of where he was earlier, with a nervous look on his face. The cocky Slytherin boy did the same after, followed by Flint and Olivia.
Asher looked to his left, and down the row, where he caught sight of Valerie's feet touching ground, and Sean moving forward slightly, laughing.
"Alright. I know I'm probably going to regret this, but those of you who are finished can try flying a further distance. But, do not go higher than a few feet from the ground, we don't want any injuries today."
Asher stepped off his broom and walked over toward the side of the pitch where he waited for Valerie and Sean. When they arrived, they all mounted their brooms again and pushed off slightly, hovering in the air.
"Dude, look at Thad." Sean whispered in his ear, and he glanced up.
Thad was moving around the pitch with a bored look on his face. He was moving quickly, and Asher couldn't help but notice that every eye of the Ravenclaw team had their eyes on him, especially Damon.
"We should go with him, he's probably really nervous with all the attention he's getting. From what we know, he'll probably pass out." Sean nudged Asher, who nodded.
The three of them flew over to Thad at the same time as Damon. Damon got there before them, and he was engaging Thad in a conversation, who was blushing dark red. Just as they flew over, they heard the end of the conversation.
"Sorry, I'm err… not really sporty… I don't know how you could, er, use me in a Quidditch match…" He trailed off, and Damon patted his shoulder.
"No problem! We can show you some stuff, see if you change your mind. Meet up with us at practice tomorrow?"
Thad nodded, and Damon flew back to check on the other Ravenclaws.
"So he wants you on the team?" Sean asked, flying up beside Thad, who was still red.
"Y-yeah. Said that I had, um, 'great potential'…"
Sean laughed again, tapping him on the shoulder, and the four of them flew back over to Madam Hooch as she blew her whistle.
"Alright. I take it that our captains have made their picks of you, if they're interested. So those of you who were confronted by your captains, please remain here. The rest of you, you can go up on the stands if you'd like." Madam Hooch spoke, and a couple students groaned, but others were excited.
Asher walked with Sean and Valerie to the stands, but Damon and the Slytherin captain ran up.
"Wait!"
The three of them turned around, and Damon grinned lopsidedly. The Slytherin captain tapped Valerie's shoulder and was whispering something to her. She was grinning wildly.
"Uuh, Sean. I didn't get the chance earlier, but I'd like you to stay down here with the others. You flew well." Damon spoke, patting him on the shoulder.
Asher waved a 'bye' to his friend and climbed the stands to watch.
Down on the pitch were eight first-years, two from each house. Standing in front of the Gryffindor captain were Flint and Olivia, both grinning ear-to-ear. Beside them was the cocky Slytherin boy, and Valerie, with their captain. To their left was a boy Asher hadn't seen before, thin and lanky, with sandy brown hair, standing next to a girl, he vaguely remembered her name to be Lily. The two of them were standing in front of the Hufflepuff captain, and to their left was Thad, Sean and Damon.
"These first years have been 'scouted', so now, we're going to give all you," Madam Hooch smiled and pointed to the stands, "a chance to see what your house might be up against.
Thad visibly paled, and the others looked slightly nervous as well. All except the cocky Slytherin boy, who was still smirking.
Asher watched as the captains appeared to be giving instructions. The captains handed both of their 'scouts' a small bat, and turned them around.
"Firstly, we'll be testing their skills in each of the positions. Starting with beater."
There were a few groans and faces from the people in the crowd, but Asher was waiting anxiously to find out what they were talking about. His dad had barely mentioned Quidditch, but from the noises he was hearing, being a 'Beater' didn't sound very good.
Madam Hooch walked over to a crate at the side of the field and opened it. She clicked what appeared to be latches, and a fist-size black back shot out toward the first-years.
As soon as it approached her, Valerie swung her bat, and the black ball was sent flying in the other direction. She grinned, just as it came back toward the other Slytherin. He hit it as well, but this time it was sent in the direction of the Hufflepuff first-years, who didn't react quickly enough.
The black ball hit Lily, who was knocked to the ground, as it swung back around toward the boy. He hit it, sending it back toward Madam Hooch, who grabbed it in her hand and put it back in the crate.
"Well, that didn't turn out well." She grimaced, and Professor Sinistra ran over to Lily, helped her to her feet, and started to bring her to the hospital wing. The other Hufflepuff boy scowled at the Slytherin boy, and 'boos' were heard from the Hufflepuff team.
Madam Hooch walked out with a larger red ball next. She handed it to Damon, who ushered Sean and Thad on their brooms. They flew higher into the air than they had previously learned, so they were flying higher than the stands, which were taller than trees.
"You guys are going to need to try getting this," Damon gestured to the ball, "past our Keeper, me, and into the hoops." He pointed to the end of the pitch, where there were three tall hoops waiting.
"Alright, wait for me to get over there, then take your turns."
As Damon was flying over, Thad was looking down at the ball, not holding onto his broom, as he was perched forty-feet in the air. Sean was gripping his broom tightly, trying not to fall off.
"Just put your feet down here," Thad gestured to where his feet were sitting, up against the wood of the broom, "it's comfortable and you can use your legs to hold you up."
Sean did as instructed, and lessened his grip on the broom. Damon was waving at them from the hoops, and every eye was on Thad, as he was the one holding the ball.
Thad gripped the ball under an arm, and sped off toward the hoops, coming in from one side, and pulling the ball into his hand. Damon had a determined look in his eye, and he flew to the left as Thad's arm flew out to throw the ball, but he flicked his wrist and the ball was sent to the right, where it swung through the hoop.
Damon grinned and flew over to Thad, nudging him with his elbow, and sending Thad back down to the ground.
Sean followed after, but Damon was successful in the blocking of the hoop. He nudged Sean like he did with Thad, and the two of them flew back down.
The other houses did the same, and Valerie managed to get the ball past the Keeper, though none of the others were able to.
The Ravenclaw team was cheering loudly as Madam Hooch walked out carrying a small golden ball. Asher recognized it as the Snitch, which his dad had told him about.
"Now, to get a more traditional Quidditch feel, we're going to put two of you against each other in the hunt for the Snitch. The goal of the Seeker is to get the Snitch before the other, so it will be good practice, should you be given the spot."
The first-years nodded, and Madam Hooch sent the Hufflepuff boy into the air with Olivia. The two flew around looking for the Snitch, but Olivia managed to get it first. Sean was up next, against Valerie, and the two of them both had determined looks in their eyes. Sean got the Snitch, and the two laughed it off.
Up next was Flint against the cocky Slytherin boy. Whilst in the air, the two were bumping each other as they flew toward the Snitch, and Flint's grip on his broom wavered. He slipped from the side of his broom at one final nudge from the Slytherin boy, and he was sent tumbling forty-feet toward the ground.
All of the people in the crowd gasped, and some girls screamed. Asher glanced down at the other first-years, who were giving Flint worrying looks, and the Slytherin boy one of distaste. The only one to do anything, however, was Thad.
"Arresto Momentum!"
Flint stopped falling in midair, a few feet from the ground, and he slowly drifted down toward the ground, at the direction of Thad's wand. The teachers only gave Thad a grateful look, and ran over to help Flint.
"Twenty points to Ravenclaw, ."
The Ravenclaws in the stands started cheering, and Thad was blushing dark red again. The Gryffindor captain walked over to Thad and thanked him, before running off to help Flint, who was picking himself off the ground.
The Slytherin boy flew back down with the Snitch in his hand, smirking.
"You could have hurt him, Kai." Valerie scolded him, and the grin on his face faded.
"It's not my fault he can't hold onto a broom." He defended, handing the Snitch back to Madam Hooch, who looked slightly angry.
"Alright, we'll continue this. But," Madam Hooch said, pointing to Kai, "you have detention for the rest of the week. Ten points from Slytherin, I will not tolerate aggressive behaviour."
Kai frowned, and sat down on the bench at the side of the stands.
"Jenkins, we don't have any other first-years for you to go against, so you'll go against the Hufflepuff Seeker."
The Hufflepuff team made an apologetic face to Thad.
"Why is that such a big deal?" Asher leaned over to whisper in Liz's ear, and she leaned over to him.
"The Hufflepuff team's Seeker is supposedly the best one here. He won them the Quidditch Cup last year."
Asher frowned slightly as Thad flew into the air after the Hufflepuff Seeker.
Madam Hooch released the Snitch and set the two out after it. Thad didn't move, he only looked around, while the Hufflepuff Seeker flew quickly toward the hoops on one side of the pitch, in hopes of getting a better view.
Everybody in the stands, especially the Hufflepuffs, were watching Thad as he looked around. Suddenly, Thad sprung to life and was zooming on his broom to the opposite end of the pitch as the Hufflepuff Seeker. The Hufflepuffs shouted at their Seeker, and were pointing toward Thad, who was zooming toward a small golden blur.
The Ravenclaws were cheering, and some of the Hufflepuffs looked nervous. Asher looked over at Thad, who was a few feet away from the Snitch.
Just then, Thad's broom stopped moving completely, and Thad was nearly flung forward off his broom. He managed to grip the front, and stop himself from falling like Flint, but he only grasped it with one hand, and was unable to get his other hand onto the broom.
The stands gasped, and Asher chanced a look at the Hufflepuffs. Sure enough, there was a boy putting his wand away as he grinned. They had stopped Thad's broom.
The Hufflepuff Seeker flew toward the Snitch, which was now hovering by Thad's face, and Thad was swinging his free arm in an attempt to grab it. The Snitch stopped in front of Thad's face just long enough for him to swing his arm.
His fingers curled around the small golden ball, but his other hand could no longer hold him up. His broom slipped from his grasp, and he started to fall toward the grassy pitch below. People were shouting again, and Thad's free hand rustled through his pocket as he fell.
Pointing it toward where the other first-years were standing, Thad flicked it, and one of the spare brooms began shooting toward him. About ten feet from the ground, the broom reached him, and he landed on it, flying just a few feet from the ground toward Madam Hooch, who was grinning sheepishly.
"Ten more points to Ravenclaw. I don't know what's up today, but you did a good job." She told him, and Thad grinned slightly.
The stands erupted into cheers, and Thad was turning dark red again. Sure enough, the entire school knew who he was now.
Damon jogged over to Thad, and squeezed his shoulders.
"That was awesome! You have to play for us! We'd win for sure! I'll tell you what, come down to practice tomorrow, and we'll get you a spot on the team. We're gonna try out some other people, and see if you're better for playing Chaser or Seeker. But wow, that was incredible. Where'd you learn to fly like that? And those spells!"
Thad was blushing slightly still, "Actually, I've never ridden a broom before, and I was reading through some things at the library, and they seemed to work…"
Asher, Sean and a few other Ravenclaws were running over to Thad now, and beaming.
"Thaddy-kins! That was amazing!" Levi was shouting shaking Thad by his shoulders. "You'll make the team for sure!"
"Erm, about that…" Thad turned to Damon, "Is it okay if I don't join the team?"