Once the castle had become acclimatised to the new school year the weeks began to roll by with little incident. The last of the holiday's sunshine had long since departed and as October began to pick up it's pace along with it came the ever increasing wintry chill that filtered it's way through the halls causing every student to stay snugly wrapped in their heavy robes on the long walks between classes.

The large pane windows in the school library that overlooked the newly frosted grounds were heavily misted from the early morning bite of cold. It was within this library that Seymour was sat with his three friends tucked away in the far corner of the room. The table they occupied was strewn with old books and random bits of parchment, riddled with heavily crossed out lines and the odd diagram. The old gas oil lamp was dimly lit and perched tentatively on the corner of the desk finding it hard to remain on the heavily littered surface.

"Why was it that we had to meet here so early again Alice?" Robin inquired idly as he sat tilted back in his chair staring up blankly at the tall bookcases surrounding the group.

"You know why Rob. Professor Goodwin's homework is due tomorrow and you two haven't even started it yet." Alice looked up from her book and pointed an accusing finger his way and then at Seymour who was busy flicking randomly through an old copy of "The Great Magical Inventors Of Our Time Vol.124" with very little interest.

"Yeah I know that but it's our day off Alice. Why so bloody early. It's only mid-day, I could have had at least another three hours in bed if you hadn't ordered Lloyd to drag me out." Robin stifled a yawn and glared accusingly at Lloyd who grimaced back apologetically.

"Yeah but it's tryouts for the Quidditch team today and I thought we could all go down to the pitch and give Seymour our support?"

Seymour who hadn't been listening until now froze in the middle of turning a page and looked up. "You're coming to watch?" he asked his eyes darting between the three of them.

"Of course we are." explained Alice with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh right." even though he appreciated the sentiment Seymour didn't think having his friends present at the tryouts sounded like the best idea in the world, one that Robin clearly shared.

"Alice I can watch Sey fall off his broom any day of the week. I really don't think he'll want an audience present when he's told he's rubbish." he grinned at Seymour and gave him a mocking thumbs up.

"Cheers Rob. I knew you had faith in me but this is too much." Seymour had been trying very hard not to think about the looming tryouts all week and only now that they were a mere three hours away did the nerves really start to run havoc as he envisioned his pending failure over and over again.

"Sorry mate but you've got no hope. Ginny's really good, I was watching her practice yesterday lunch time. Did I mention how good she looks with her hair flowing behind her as she flies?" Robin leaned his chin on his hand as his mind wandered off into the deepest realms of his imagination.

"Yes you told us twice yesterday and once this morning." Alice tutted as she scribbled down more notes onto a blank page. "But they need more than one Chaser Robin and Seymour can't be that bad can he?" she asked looking in Seymour's direction who glared back at her astonished. "Sorry I didn't mean you were bad, what do I know about Quidditch anyway. I'm sure you're very good Seymour." she quickly relinquished her statement and smiled back reassuringly at her friend.

"But as you said Alice, you know nothing about Quidditch." chimed in Robin only stifling his laughter when Madam Pince the school librarian sent a disgruntled look his way.

"Can we just get back to what's his name for now?" asked Seymour trying his best not to dwell on his doubts in his abilities.

"It's Augustine Fortwater and yes I think we should." piped up Alice, viciously screwing up her piece of parchment and flinging it in Robin's direction.

"I can't find anything though, I've been through volumes 120 to 124 and all I've got is a headache." Seymour rubbed his temple and slammed the large leather book closed with a thud.

"Well someone must know, someone really clever and funny and cool… did I mention you were also really smart Lloyd." Robin gazed at his friend expectantly as he motioned to his blank roll of parchment.

Lloyd heaved a heavy sigh and defeatedly lumbered over to the large bookcase behind him pulling out a large black book with the words, "Genius or raving lunatic? Visionaries of the Wizarding World." printed across the middle in red letters. He walked over between the two seated boys and dropped the book between them. "Page 326 and by the way clever and smart are the same thing Rob." he shuffled back over to his seat and disappeared once again into his studies.

"Quite right you are Lloyd." beamed Robin with a grin as he rolled the large book open at the right page. "I just meant that you are really, really brainy." he peered at the crammed text and turned away as if resisting the urge to vomit. "Read it out for us Sey, there's far too many words for me to take in on an empty stomach, far too many words."

"It's a book Robin. That's kind of the point." Seymour looked on at his friend dismayed as he pulled the book closer to him. "Let me copy afterward then yeah?"

"Sure, sure." Robin grabbed his quill and looked on expectantly as Seymour began to read.

"Augustine Fortwater: Birth date unknown.

Rumoured to have been born in the town of Arundel, West Sussex, Augustine Odysseus Fortwater is regarded by many to be one of the last true great wizard inventors of our time. A furiously private person known only to those who had the pleasure to work with him who were all sworn to a vow of silence. During his early career he operated under the privacy of the Ministry Of Magic which kept the inventor's identity a secret until after many years of service he left to build a family life away from the dangers the job position held.

Even after his term at the Ministry he still continued to astound the wizarding world with his creations and discoveries ranging from vital spells such as the Reducto charm and Deletrius spell to the lesser but no more charming inventions such as the anti-Parple dung boot. Little is known about the wizard's early life but it is written that he spent a good few years under the guided cloak of Sir Nicholas Flamel in which he learnt much of his trade until he deemed it necessary to go out on his own at the green age of 21. Over the years he had mirrored his mentor and took it upon himself to train many a young witch and wizard, his most famous happening to be his last before his disappearance from the public eye who goes by the name of Clement Goodwin. During his later years his mental state would be called into question after rumours were spread that he had begun to dabble in the tabooed act of reversing the "Avada Kedavra" curse. He claimed in one of his many published notes that he had managed to make the link between life and death tangible via the blood of a creature that held similar properties. It was these writings that deduced many to believe he was already off his rocker and not far off a permanent stay at St. Mungos. What is a blotch on an otherwise flawless record should not detract from the many great things he produced and concocted to improve the quality of life to many a wizard and witch. He was presented with the honour of Merlin twice and in… Robin?… Rob are you listening?"

Seymour peered up from the heavy book to witness his friend doodling on the bottom of his parchment which contained only three lines of copied text. He was oblivious to the sharp stares he was receiving from the other three occupants at the desk and stuck his tongue out in concentration as he put the finishing touches to his sketch of a vicious looking troll who appeared to be beating seven shades of turtle gunge out of a very well rendered Draco Malfoy. He took one look at his completed work and chuckled before looking up with a vacant stare at his three friends. "What?"

"What do you mean what? This isn't a bedtime story, you're suppose to be writing this down you know?" Seymour glared at him desperately trying not to grin every time his eyes rolled over Robin's sketch.

"Oh yeah, sorry Sey. I think I got most the important details down. Sounds like a nutter doesn't he? What was his name?"

After spending another half an hour rereading and copying the chapter with Lloyd's help, they finally sat back with heavy sighs and stretches before slowly packing up their bags.

"Good work today people." announced Robin with a triumphant grin. "Not you Lloyd you slacked off a bit too much." he bounced up from his chair and slung his bag over his shoulder, then tousling his blond hair about he made for the exit. "See you lot on the pitch. I've got an hours detention with Snape beforehand so I might not be in the best of moods when you next see me. And Sey I know I muck about mate but don't worry about the tryouts too much, you've got as much chance as anyone." he waved behind his back before disappearing around a bookcase.

"Bless him." Seymour smirked as he finished stuffing his books back into his already crammed satchel.

"Yeah, his hearts in the right place… pity about his brain. I think he's warming to Luna too." remarked Alice as she grabbed her bag off Lloyd.

"What? You are joking right? He hasn't gone one Potions lesson without making fun of her. He's only got that detention because he was too busy trying to wind her up to complete his potion."

"Yeah alright then." admitted Alice with a glum look, "You do talk to her a lot during lessons though Sey, I think Robin just feels a bit left out."

"I like talking to Luna so why should I stop and we both know that's not the reason he acts like such an arse around her." Seymour pushed his mess of hair out of his eyes and sat back on the table with a tentative look at his Nimbus 900 broom which was leaning on it.

"He's right Seymour, just relax you'll be fine." Lloyd sat next to him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. Seymour couldn't explain to them why he was feeling so jittery as to be honest he was unsure himself. He wasn't too bothered if he didn't make the team as he never really expected to. Instead something else more potent than failure lurked in the back of his mind as he struggled to pinpoint it's catalyst.

"Sey have you got those notes you made handy?" asked Alice as she struggled with the buckled on her bag.

"Yes don't worry Alice I won't forget them." Seymour rolled his eyes and tapped his satchel.

"Well maybe I should go over them just in case you've missed out anything important." she avoided his eyes and joined the two boys sat on the table.

"That's alright thanks Alice. Lloyd had a look just now, remember?" he frowned confused as he jumped off the desk and made in the same direction as Robin.

"Yeah but still maybe it's best I borrow them and just… check." Alice went red and looked flustered as she struggled to remain uninterested about her offer.

Seymour let a huge grin snake across his face as he realised what she was getting at. "You've haven't done the homework either have you?" he studied her hard and ran around her as she desperately turned to avoid him.

"What are you talking about of course I… please don't tell Robin he'd never shut up about it." She froze on the spot and begrudgingly looked at him with pleading eyes.

"How you've got the nerve to lecture us when you haven't even managed it yourself Miss Filby." he joked as he stuck a hand into his bag producing the notes.

She took them with a smile and waved them in his direction. "I've got so much other homework to do and it's really hard. We can't all be born with gigantic freakish brains like Lloyd." she grabbed Lloyd's hand and held it high in the air before he snatch it away with a grin.

"Is that a complement? Is that why they made me prefect, because of my…"

"Prefect!" Alice grabbed her badge before grasping her forehead. "We're suppose to be doing the rounds this morning. I forgot." she prodded him in the side and swung her bag onto her shoulder. Lloyd merely groaned loudly and edged away.

"Do we have to? Can't we just skip it and stay here instead?" he looked like he couldn't think of a worse activity than spending his morning telling other students how to behave. Seymour felt sorry for him but was glad he didn't have to suffer the same fate.

"Of course we do. We're prefects. Come on." She stood behind his large frame and pushed with all her might in the direction of the Library door.

"Hang on, hang on!" Lloyd stumbled and struggled to retreat before being ushered out the large room with a defeated look.

"We'll see you in a few hours Seymour, good luck. Thanks for these." Alice smiled and waved his notes with one hand before finally disappearing behind the large oak door. Seymour smiled and slowly made off in the same direction. He couldn't wait to tell Robin.

*

Seymour glanced at his watch as he clattered across the chilly courtyard. He hadn't meant to fall asleep as he'd only wanted to rest up before the tryouts but his bed was just too comfy and warm compared to the cold air outside, ripe with flakes of snow and bouts of drizzle. He cursed his luck and doubted whether being late would set a great first impression in his attempt at a career as a chaser.

He dropped his broom with a clatter as he struggled to pull on his shoulder guards and only stopped when a familiar figure appeared a little way off in the distance and much higher than he had expected for over in the corner of the courtyard sat perched rather elegantly in one of the many trees was Luna Lovegood. She was up high on a middle branch leaning her back against the large trunk with only her long tangled strands of blonde hair visible for the rest of her was hidden behind a rather large book. Without seeing her face he wouldn't have been sure it was Luna but the fact that the student was at present time nestled in a tree on a blistery chilly afternoon it narrowed down the list of suspects to either Luna or… well it was clearly Luna.

Her shoes (one of the few remaining pairs she still had in her possession) were neatly placed at the base of the tree and one of her legs was stretched out along the branch she was sitting on, the other dangled below, her bare foot swaying back and forth happily as she tugged her school robe tightly around her against the bitter cold. Seymour stood watching her for a while half in fascination and the other in complete bemusement before walking up to the tree and arching his head up to her.

"You might lose these if you're not careful." he called up with a smile pointing to her shoes at his feet. Luna put down the book in her lap and looked around her trying to pinpoint the direction of the sound. She nodded and placed a hand softly on the trunk behind her.

"Thank you Mr. Tree but what will I lose?"

Seymour frowned and put down his broom before shoving his hands into his pockets. "You are joking right?"

"Of course I am Seymour." she smiled down warmly at him and waved her hand. "This tree doesn't talk."

"Of course." he smiled back and patted the old tree. "Only Elks and Evergreens can talk right?"

"Exactly." she grinned and turned around to face him. She had already explained this to Seymour once before in class much to the displeasure of Robin who merely scoffed and sniggered as she did so.

"How are you today? Ooh I like your shoulder pads. Are you heading to a party?" She tilted her head as she studied him with great concentration.

"No." he grinned, "I'm off to the tryouts remember? They're today… I'm a bit late as it goes." he trailed off suddenly reminded of this fact.

"Oh yes, I do hope you do well Seymour." She swung her legs and gripped onto the branch. "I've never seen you fly before, I'm sure you're very good."

"Actually not so much… you could come if you want?" He wasn't quite sure why he had asked this as he hadn't previously fancied an audience but something about seeing Luna balanced so neatly in that tree filled him with a bit more confidence than usual.

"Really?" she beamed with a smile. "You don't mind?"

"Yeah come on Luna, this might be the only chance you'll get to see me fly in the Gryffindor colours." He waved her down with a grin.

"In that case… err could you?" she pointed at the ground below her feet.

"What?" he asked looking around expecting to find something.

"Well I'm good at climbing tree's but getting down's a different matter. I would use my wand but I might hurt the tree and I really don't want that." she explained with a worried look motioning for him to stand below her.

"What are you a cat?" he asked as he looked up holding his arms out.

"Oh that would be nice wouldn't it?" she mused as she prepared to jump, "I suppose you get cats that would like to be humans as well. I'll have to ask Mrs. Norris the next time I see her." She swung her legs again and pushed herself off the branch before dropping down, her long locks of hair trailing behind her. Seymour wrapped his arms around her waist and caught her before her feet could touch the ground. He took a step back as he held on with her arms around his neck. He lowered her down and she patted his arm glancing up at him.

"I thought you were going to use your wand to stop me but this works too." She pulled her wand from her robes and stuck in behind her ear as she always did and then turned to put on her shoes.

"Oh right. Sorry." Seymour was glad she had her back turned as he was feeling rather stupid and had turned an embarrassed shade of red.

"Sorry for what?" she asked as she kicked the toe of her shoe into the ground. "Come on then, you don't want to be late." She picked up his broom and tugged him by the arm in the direction of the open fields.

The thin white blanket of frost that had coated the grounds earlier this morning had disappeared but it still looked damp and cold as the two of them walked across the never ending fields of green that stretched out before them.

"How is Hagrid's Screwt getting along?" Seymour asked glancing tentatively in the direction of the giant's hut.

"Only half its body now but it looks healthier than ever." She glanced up and smiled before going back to gazing far off into the forbidden forest. Half a body and the word healthy didn't seem to fit in Seymour's mind but he remained tight lipped as they walked on, the Quidditch pitch looming ominously closer with every step.

"Are you nervous?" she asked noting the troubled look in his eyes.

"Maybe a little." He grinned hoping it would mask his big fat lie as his insides squirmed like mad.

"Shall I perform the Dunglebird ritual before you go on? It's said to bring good luck and settles nerves. Dunglebird's are remarkably cocky when in flight and have never had an unintentional collision in their entire existence." She grabbed her bag and rummaged around as if looking for a copy of The Quibbler to prove her point.

"Have they been known to intentionally crash then?" he asked thankful that the odd chat was taking his mind off the pitch in his eye line.

"Yes, they are known to collide in flight at least twenty times a day but they mean everyone of them. They are very lucky creatures." She waved a finger and nodded on her words as she spoke.

"What kind of bird purposefully smashes into things on a regular bases?" he questioned with a grin.

She tapped him on the head with her finger as if he was daft not to realise. "It's all a cunning ruse. They want other birds, bigger, stronger birds to think them clumsy and slow so that they will take pity on them and leave them alone. It's a form of survival, not one Dunglebird has ever been eaten by it's prey ever, proving the method works you see?"

"How do they die then?"

"Well usually from crashing into things. They can tend to get carried away from time to time. I never said they were clever." She frowned upon looking at his sceptical expression.

"But to be cunning surely you have to be clever in the first place?"

"Not necessarily, just look at Draco Malfoy."

"Good one." Seymour laughed and patted her back, she smiled and looked up at him.

"Yes it was rather, wasn't it?"

They were only a few feet away now and Seymour could see the rest of the hopeful applicants already on the pitch. Harry was busy talking to Hermione and Ron whilst a few others were whizzing round the pitch warming up or sat on the ground pulling on their safety gear. He spotted Ginny zooming in and out of the large hoops at one end of the pitch. She circled gracefully and hung upside down as she shot the full length of the field. This display didn't help with Seymour's nerves as she was one of the students he'd be competing against for a place in the team.

"She's really good Ginny isn't she? She'll have no problems making the team." Luna commented absent mindedly as she traced the loops and dives Ginny was making in mid air, her face amazed.

"Thank you Luna." Seymour sighed heavily and looked around the rest of the pitch when he finally found the trio he was looking for. Lloyd and Alice were sat on the edge of the pitch using Lloyd's cloak as a sheet. They clearly had already lost interest in the display going on above them and had opted not to waste any more time and were busy raking through this weeks Transfiguration homework. Robin as expected was looking in the same direction as Luna as he watched Ginny dance about in mid-air, his eyes oddly glazed over with a soppy grin on his face.

"Oi!" Seymour called over as he and Luna made their way across the wet surface of the grass towards them. Lloyd and Alice both looked up and greeted them with a wave, so did Robin but his face dropped as his eyes fell on Luna who skipped merrily next to Seymour waving back.

"Hello Robin." she smiled and then turned to greet his other two friends in a similar fashion joining them both on the floor.

"Alright." Robin murmured casting an accusing eye at Seymour. He sidled up to his friend and half whispered through the corner of his mouth. "What the bloody hell did you bring her for?" he frowned and nodded his head in Luna's direction.

"Don't start Rob." Seymour had been expecting this but still he couldn't help glaring back at the blonde haired boy.

"Does she ever leave you alone these days? She's not even in Gryffindor."

"So what? I invited her anyway so if you want to be mad at anyone be mad at me ok. Leave her alone."

"I am mad at you." Robin grumbled shoving his hands into his pockets. "I bet she offered to curse your broom and sprinkle some mad dust on you for luck or something?"

"Well she did offer to perform the good luck ritual of the Dunglebird. It was great you should have seen it Robin. It involved twirling scarves and this weird chant that sounded like a high pitched Hippogriff." He knew it didn't bode well to wind Robin up but considering the way he had been speaking about Luna it filled Seymour with an enormous sense of satisfaction to witness his friends annoyed reaction.

"I knew it, I bloody knew it. You'll be flying head first into the school's window as soon as you kick off that broom. Mark my words."

"Gather round please." Harry called out from the small crowd of students and waved a hand in the air. It was too late to give up and Seymour took a deep breath as he strolled over to the gathering circle.

"Good luck Sey." Alice and Lloyd stood up, gathered together against the cold weather.

"Yeah good luck Sey." Robin grinned and nodded in his direction before frowning in Luna's as she called out.

"Remember the Dunglebird Seymour, you'll do just fine." she smiled warmly and waved. He waved back and the urge to laugh suppressed a few of the nervous jitters that were jumping in his stomach.

He took a knee with the rest of the applicants and nodded in Ginny's direction as she waved back and gave a look that indicated how nervous she was feeling. While Harry was busy explaining to the keepers what they would be doing she shuffled her way around the group and pushed him off balance.

"I won't hold back Seymour, I'll show no mercy." she joked with a grin as she pulled him back up.

"That's fine but could you do us a favour and not show me up too much, I would like to leave here with some of my dignity intact." He smiled begrudgingly and pushed her back. "Who's that?" he asked noting the large broad shouldered boy standing next to Harry with a very smug look on his face.

"That's McCormack, he's a right pain. Think's he's already in the team. He's driving Harry mad." she frowned in the boy's direction.

"What's he going for?"

"Keeper."

"I bet Ron's not happy about it?"

"I think he's more nervous than anything."

"That makes two of us." Seymour sat down crossing his legs as the keepers began to fly up towards the goal posts.

"I'd rather Ron made the team to be honest but don't tell him I said that." Ginny cast a worried look in Ron's direction and then turned to look at Seymour. "Or I may have to kill you."

Seymour leaned back and grinned holding up his hands. "Ok fair enough. You're a really kind, caring sister deep, deep down aren't you?"

"Oh shut up. By the way is there any chance you could get Robin to stop staring at me all the time. He's starting to worry me." she grimaced and motioned in Robin's direction who appeared to be watching their conversation with great interest.

"He wouldn't listen to me if I did and besides it might start making a certain someone jealous with any luck." he added hiding his knowing smile.

"Dean's not like that, he'd probably think I was imagining it or something."

"I wasn't talking about Dean." Seymour didn't look at her and continued to grin as he watched the first of the keepers prepare to take to defending the hoops.

"What… who are you…" her eyes looked at him accusingly and then off towards Harry and Ron who were busy arguing with McCormack about who should be taking the shots. She went slightly red and then punched him on the arm hard. "You and your imagination."

"Anyway what's wrong with Robin? He's a right charmer on the quiet and as you can see he's got a way with the ladies." Seymour laughed and nodded over at his group of friends and at Robin who was staring daggers at Luna who had decided to cheer on the students on the pitch by shooting bright red sparks from her wand spelling out words like "Success" and "Goal" and "Don't fall off."

Ginny laughed along with him and smiled fondly at Luna before turning back towards Seymour and staring at him hard. "How's it going with Luna by the way? You two seem to be spending a fair bit of time together." It was her turn to grin as she nudged his shoulder with hers.

"Well we only really see each other during lessons but she's a lot of fun. We're friends I think… well I hope we are. I doubt I'm a patch on friends like Harry, Ron and Hermione though." He rested his chin on his hands as he studied the parting grey clouds in the distance.

"Oh I don't know Seymour, she often tends to bring you up into any conversation I have with her recently. I know she can be a bit hard to read some times but that's Luna."

"Hogwarts' very own department of mysteries." Seymour looked back at Luna and smiled watching her prance around his three friends waving her scarf in the air.

"Oh she'd love that nickname." Ginny laughed as she watched the proceedings on the pitch.

"Ginny can you give us a hand and take a few shots for us?" Harry bellowed across the pitch towards them waving his hand.

"Dean's calling you… sorry Harry." Seymour pushed her off in his direction. She grinned and used him to push herself up.

"Now there's no chance I'm going to let you off easy." She called back to Harry and then trotted off towards him waving behind her as she went.

Having spent previous years being a mere spectator in these grounds it was weighing heavy on Seymour's mind as to how different it felt to finally be at the centre of the madness that was Quidditch. He watched as Ginny drove through the spitting rain at top speed with the quaffle under her arm. The furious pace of which she seemed so at ease with was more than a little daunting and it was a far cry away from the humble back gardens and country fields of which Seymour had been used to flying. Having now had ample time in which to soak up the atmosphere of a full sized pitch it was beginning to feel more than a little above his station and Seymour desperately tried to keep up with the action taking place high above him. All he could now make out was Ginny's long trailing red hair as she whizzed around the goal posts before slamming the quaffle in the direction of her brother Ron who dived spectacularly through the air to grasp in in his outstretched hands.

If Seymour hadn't been so sure that the stadium was quite empty he would have been certain that the distant rumble of sound he could hear was the cheering crowd screaming from the far off stands. He shook his head but the sound did not wane nor did it change but merely lingered in his ears as he continued to watch. For reasons he could not fathom his heart began to thud away in his chest and he could barley concentrate as an overwhelming sense of dread filled his lungs, ripping the air within as he struggled to draw a steady breath. A piercing scream plunged through the growl of voices and a feeling he'd only ever felt once before ran through his mind, hopeless and helpless, unable to do anything but watch from his place among many but one of the few who knew things would never be the same.

"Seymour!"

He shook his head and stared around the pitch to find Harry calling him over from only metres above him. "Come on, you're up next." Harry's smile quickly faded as he watched Seymour push himself up off the ground. His hands were shaking and his head was murky as he clutched hold of his broomstick with sweaty palms. He looked positively sick. "Are you alright Seymour?" Harry hovered lower and peered curiously into the boys colourless face. What on earth was wrong with him? Seymour desperately tried to gain some focus as the distant cheers mixed with screams began to fade away. He breathed in heavily and clutched the handle of his broom tightly and managed a weak smile back up at Harry. "Y…yeah. Where do you want me?"

"Well in the air preferably." Harry rolled his eyes but still looked concerned. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine." Seymour mounted his broom and forced his legs to cooperate as he tentatively kicked off from the ground and flew into the air. This was his chance, he wasn't going to let an odd turn ruin things for him. He breathed in deeply and willed the cold, clean air to run through his mind and sharpen his senses. Clawing through the air he flew over towards the goal posts and joined the rest of the hopeful chasers as they listened to Harry's instructions.

"Right well I thought we'd try you out one by one and see how you faired with a couple of bludgers on your tail. It's pointless just watching you fly about for ten minutes. I need to see how you handle the pressure of a real game. So all I want you to do is fly from one end of the pitch to the other with the quaffle and see if you can score past Ron. You'll have to try and shake off those bludgers as you won't have any beaters helping you." Harry nodded and quickly started the exercise with Ginny going first.

Needless to say she set the bar pretty high by effortlessly gliding round the pitch with the bludgers hot on her tail. She dived in-between and around them with the quaffle still lodged under her arm. Ron made a decent attempt to save her shot but it was too good and sailed past through one of the hoops. After witnessing such a high standard of playing a few of the group had already begun to wander off towards the castle believing it better to quit now than risk getting hit on the head by a bludger for nothing.

Seymour was more in kin with these few than the rest but he stayed on and watched as a younger boy name Gregory Marshall flew the wrong way round the pitch screaming as the bludgers chased him further and further away from the goal until he called out "I give up!" and flew off to catch up with the early leavers. This cheered Seymour up a bit but not for long as Harry called out his name. He was so full of nerves he was unsure that it was his name for a brief second. He flew down towards the end of the pitch and joined Harry, Ron, Dean and Ginny who were all busy laughing over the last hopefuls exit. Dean tossed the quaffle towards him and instead of catching it he missed and it flew away into the distance forcing him to go off after it.

"Good start Seymour." He admonished himself as he glanced down towards his four friends all of whom were desperately trying to pretend they hadn't seen his missed catch… apart from Luna who shouted up. "Don't worry Seymour, you nearly caught it. I would have missed altogether." She smiled and waved oblivious to the dismayed expression on Robin's face as he shook his head.

The wind tore at his cheeks and the light rain clouded his vision somewhat as he tried to seek the goalpost down the far end of the field where Ron was waiting. "Ready Sey?" Harry cast a worried glance towards him and upon Seymour's nod he set free the two bludgers from the box down below with his wand. They were faster than he had expected and watched as they sped towards him like gigantic bullets before finally realising he was going to have to start moving or they would crash into him. He forced his broom into an upward turn and shot off at pace letting the wind flutter at his long hair. He lunged back down and then made way towards the goal. He quickly ducked to avoid the first bludger and it whistled past his head and then flew sideways to avoid the other. Now that he'd gotten going he was beginning to get back into the grove of things and shot down the field weaving round each bludger at speed before then it happened. The first bludger had turned back sharply and struck the very end of his broom handle forcing him into a violent spin. The force of which it hit acted as a trigger to an onslaught of vivid images. One's he spent years suppressing deep down within him.

The woman he could see looked familiar to him and she too was wearing a full Quidditch uniform but it wasn't a Hogwarts house nor was it an empty stadium she was playing in. Instead it was full with cheering faces and reddened cheeks from the bitter cold. She twirled through the onslaught of flying players and turned in and out of the path of two ferocious bludgers. She looked completely at home in the air and captured Seymour's mind as he continued to watch enthralled with the spectacle he was witnessing. Seymour had never felt happier and cheered along with the rest of the crowd as she span around to make way for the goal. Then it all changed, the joy and adulation he had felt sunk like a rock in his stomach as a bludger swung wide and then careered towards her. It struck her about the head with such force that Seymour himself flinched and looked away. When he looked back the woman was falling. Her limp body rolled in the air as she fell, her broom had long since left her grasp and fell along side her. It felt as if she'd never come to rest, as if the air she fell through was desperately trying to catch her before the inevitable happened and then... thud. His mother hit the ground and did not move, nor would she ever from that day forth.

The piercing scream he had heard only moments before rung out in his head bringing him to. He had not known when he had done so but he was already flying towards the ground and he tumbled off the broom and rolled on the grass. Scrambling to his knees and gasping desperately for breath. He wanted to cry but could not produce the tears to do so and instead clutched at the damp grass and hammered a fist onto the soggy earth.

"Seymour, Seymour what's wrong?"

He stared around erratically searching through the crowded faces trying to find his mother's but she was not there.

"Seymour are you alright? You just spaced out and started to fly towards the ground. What's wrong?" Harry grasped at his shoulder but Seymour shook it off and pushed himself to his feet stumbling off towards the castle on unsteady legs, drawing desperate breaths.

"I…I…I can't. I've go…got to go…" He didn't know what he was doing but continued to make his way towards the school. Anything to get away from that pitch.

"Seymour wait you haven't finished yet. You were doing well up until then… just take a breather yeah?" Ginny called after him but he just waved his hand towards them and didn't turn around.

"No… no I can't. Sorry." He grabbed his shoulder pads and threw them to the ground and carried on walking.

"Sey what happened mate? Let's get you back to the castle. You looked wrecked." Robin and Alice were now walking along side him and he put a hand on his shoulder. "Was it your mother?" Robin cautiously asked and took Seymour's silence as a yes. "Don't worry about it mate. Maybe next year hey?"

Robin was right thought Seymour through his rain soaked hair, there was always next year. It didn't matter anyway it was just a sport. A stupid, silly, pointless, great, really fantastic sport.

"Are you not going back then Seymour?" Luna's voice appeared beside him and he looked round to see her eyes probing his face with hers wearing a look of confusion. "I thought you really wanted to try out this year?" she asked holding up his shoulder pads she had collected from the floor.

"Luna he can't go back, look at the state of him." Robin shouted as they walked. "You don't know what happened to his mother, you don't understand."

"Yes I do. His mother died playing Quidditch but that doesn't mean he will does it?" her voice was soft as she spoke.

"Shut up! If he doesn't want to go back then you can't make him. You don't know what's best for him." Robin glared at her but she didn't back down.

"I know he'll regret it if he doesn't at least try. Who says he'll get the chance next year?"

Seymour felt a hand grab his and suddenly he was changing direction. He looked up and saw Luna leading him away from the castle and towards Hagrid's hut. She ignored Robin's shouts of protests and led him further away until they stood at a small clearing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. She came to a stop and turned round, letting go of his hand and grabbing him by the arms.

"Robin's a very good friend Seymour but I really want you to listen to me for a moment. Not long, just so I can get my point across." She smiled up at him and for the first time since he had departed from his broom he managed to steal a few seconds of clarity to look back at her, pushing the damp hair away from his face. "It was your mother wasn't it, that's why you panicked?" she questioned softly to reiterate Robin's question.

Seymour could feel a fresh wave of tears start to brim up towards his eyes but he bit them down hard and swallowed before nodding.

"Well it's completely understandable then why you did. To even want to carry on playing after seeing something like that is really brave in itself." From anyone else this statement would have reached Seymour's ears as just an attempt at being nice but looking into Luna's solid gaze he was certain she meant every word. "I won't pretend for one second that I know exactly how you're feeling but I too lost my mother and I'm certain yours wouldn't want you to give up doing something you love just because of her experience, just like mine wouldn't for the same reason. She'd want you to be strong and see it through. Make her proud and not let her past rule your present. You said you're mother loved playing Quidditch right? Well how do you think she'd react if she found out you'd given up doing the same thing before you'd even started?" She rubbed his shoulder and smiled up at him.

"She'd probably march me right back up to that pitch and throw me into the air herself." Seymour replied a smile cracking across his pained expression.

"Exactly. It's not fair what happened to your mother Seymour but it was just bad luck. Just because it happened to her doesn't mean it will happen to you right?"

Seymour nodded in reply and could feel his racing heart thump slower with each breath. He still felt nervous but the fear that had once gripped his entire body and mind was already beginning to filter out of his system as he smiled back at Luna who in turn nodded and took a step back. "Now don't move." she commanded sticking out her tongue and eyeing him up like he was a particularly tricky piece of transfiguration homework.

"What do you mean, what are you…"

"You remember me telling you about Wackspurts last week in charms?" she asked bringing another smile to his face. "Well there are also their half cousins Wootburps, they work in much the same way but fly through the air and dote on the nearest living creature with good luck and high resolve and…" she lingered on her sentence with a triumphant glint in her large blue eyes. "I so happen to have been saving a few up over the past week. I was going to put them to use on my Herbology homework but I think your cause requires their assistance more." She smiled and then at once began to rake her hands through her long strands of hair tangling it over her face and over her shoulders before waving her arms around her head as if trying to capture an invisible force orbiting around her. She rotated her arms wildly and continued to wave her hands above her shoulders madly before throwing them in his direction with all her might as if trying to pass on whatever she had obtained. The whole event was rather comical but not entirely out of the norm, even so Seymour couldn't stifle his laughter for long before it burst out of him and he smiled cheerfully back at her as she repeated the process over and over again before she felt the effort she put in sufficient enough. His bout of laughter wasn't helped by the fact that he had already caught glance of Robin standing a few feet away, his face contorted in mix parts anger, indignation and bewilderment.

Luna look back at him with a begrudging smile before pointing out, "You're not supposed to laugh Seymour." She wrinkled her nose and began to push her wild mess of tangled hair from her face.

"No you're right, thanks Luna." he forced out as his laughter died, beaming back at her before brushing the last few strands from her eyes with his gloved hand. "Do you know what, I think it worked."

Luna smiled happily and gave an approving nod before holding out his discarded shoulder pads to him. "Make her proud Seymour."

He could feel his chest fill with fresh lungs of air as he nodded back before taking the pads from her and rushing back towards the Quidditch pitch.