"I refuse to share a train compartment with a violent maniac!"
From the corner of the room, Ben Solo crossed his arms and glared at Hux as he shrieked, wishing he was already on Hogwarts grounds so that he could have the ability to set fire to his robes or at least singe one of his eyebrows off. For once, Ben had not taken solace at Armitage's manor during the summer and instead had suffered an entire three months at his mother's house as she failed time and time again to get him involved in whatever benefit or gala she was leading at the time. After so many itchy dress robes and uncomfortable dinners with foreign dignitaries and blowhard politicians, Ben had almost thought Hux and his pointed weasel face would have been the lesser of two evils, but it took only ten minutes on the Hogwarts Express to prove this hypothesis wrong.
"If you don't sit down and stop your insufferable shrieking, you're off the team," Phasma instructed, her voice calm and demanding. Hux's expression soured, and he began to open his protest again, but Phasma carried on. "You know the rules, Hux. We talk strategy immediately when we board the train, or we are already behind for the season. Whatever infantile altercation you and Solo are having, it ends now or you're both getting benched."
"Not much to talk about in terms of strategy, yeah?" Bala-Tik grumbled with a bored expression on his face as he picked at the logo on his Blaster's Shatterproof Beater's Bat. "We won the cup last year. The other teams are shite. So, we'll throttle them again. Strategy talk over, right?"
"Don't make me bench you, too."
"Maybe we can run more drills?" Dolpheld Mitaka's voice cut in. The team stared at him. Mitaka had been a new addition to the team last year, a second-string chaser with the backbone of a jellyfish but the useful tendency to take direction without a single question. Ben mused that maybe he'd get bumped into the opening for first string this year. If he could learn to grow a spine, that is.
"Drills!" Bala-Tik called while slinging his bat in Mitaka's direction, making the boy twitch as it thudded on his shoulder with a solid SMACK. "So very original, Mitaka. What's the bloody point when we already know we're going to bleed 'em dry again, this year?"
"Or maybe some sort of reconnaissance," Mitaka supplied as he rubbed earnestly at his shoulder, ducking his head downwards like a dog about to punished, "to see what the other teams are changing this year?"
"Reconnaissance…?" Bala-Tik repeated.
"It means 'spying'," Hux spat out with a roll of his eyes.
"I know what it means, you red-headed arse-licker!" he responded with a scowl, banging his bat again in a way that made Mitaka instinctively jump. Ben rolled his eyes. Ever since the more senior players had left Hogwarts, strategy meetings had turned into nothing more than a battle of egos amongst the remaining players. "We do that already, don't we?" Bala-Tik continued, "Phasma's been dropping in on other teams' practices since the beginning of my third year when she was first named captain."
"I guess I meant more than just that," Mitaka muttered, a sheen of sweat appearing on the back of his neck. He rubbed at it, and Ben nearly gagged at the excessive perspiration that clung to his hand.
"You have my attention, Mitaka," Phasma said, and Ben was surprised to see that she did, indeed, seem interested. Perhaps Dolpheld did stand a chance at a starting position. "Continue."
"Koska Reeves was my potions' partner last year. You know, the Ravenclaw chaser?"
"I know each team's line-up, Mitaka. Get to the point and do not waste my time," Phasma confirmed with a scowl. Hux didn't even bother to hide his snicker.
"Well, I got to know her a bit better throughout the year. Talked about who we thought would win the World Cup, what we were doing over holidays, and all that sort of polite stuff. Long story short, we've been owling over the summer and everything."
"Congrats on the new girlfriend," Bala-Tik interrupted. "But, I think Dopheld finally losing his virginity is hardly what I'd call 'strategy'."
Mitaka squeaked, turning red.
"Let him speak," Ben finally interrupted. Surely, there was a point to all this.
"What I mean is," Mitaka said as he recovered from his own embarrassment, "That she told me that Ravenclaw has an extra opening this year. Cara Dune was cut from the team."
The compartment went silent. Dune had been a ferocious beater. Without her, the entire dynamic of the Ravenclaw team would be shaken. Phasma had a small approving smile on her face, and it seemed as if Mitaka's place on the first string team just might have been finalized.
"So you're suggesting that I fuck a Hufflepuff in order to get quidditch secrets," Bala-Tik said with a grin. "Mental. But I like it."
"Koska and I aren't f-fucking!"
Bala-Tik and Hux broke out into riotous laughter at that. "That I believe! Can't even say the word!"
"ENOUGH!" Phasma demanded, and the compartment silenced immediately. "Thank you, Mitaka, for this information. There is more to discuss for the year, of course, but I see no problem with using personal relationships to our advantage. We'll have very few problems with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, of course, but making some sort of personal connection with a Gryffindor will prove difficult. Ideas?"
"Who's the stupidest one on the team?" Hux asked. "Assuming it's not a seven-way tie."
"Not stupid," Phasma corrected. "Naive. We're looking for someone newer on the team who hasn't yet had years of fighting us on the pitch. Someone who will let their guard down."
Ben's stomach plummeted, knowing immediately which person on the team would best fit that description. "Gryffindor should be picking their newest chaser and seeker within the next few weeks," he hastily intervened.
"True," Phasma continued. "But a brand new rookie player never fully understands what decisions are being made for the team. We want someone who's fresh, yet who knows the captain well enough to know all the inside information."
"You know that Dameron will be captain," Hux said with a sneer. "Bliss totally had a thing for him. There's no way she didn't recommend him to Holdo before she left. And no way he isn't also having some sort of fling with that Niima girl who just started last year. Hell, knowing Dameron, he's probably shagged them all, the incestrous lot."
"Niima and Dameron aren't even the same year," Ben argued. "Pava's known him the longest."
"Pava would rather choke on a bezoar stone than fuck any of us," Hux argued back. "Though, believe me, I wouldn't mind trying."
"You don't have to shag them for this to work!" Mitaka said miserably as he buried his face in his hands, and Ben fought the urge to emphatically agree.
"Either way, Pava'd rather hit us with a Furnunculous curse than give anyone here the time of day," Hux continued. "Niima's the best option. Plus, I wouldn't mind giving her a go."
"You called her a mudblood last year," Ben growled, dangerously close to breaking Hux's fingers once more. "You really think she's going to want to get buddy-buddy with someone who's insulted her like that?"
"It's quidditch," Hux said with the roll of his eyes. "Stop taking it so seriously, Solo. You'd think you were muggle-born, the way you talk."
"For the record, I'd shag Niima, too," Bala-Tik interrupted.
"We don't have to shag any of them!" Mitaka cried again, overwhelmed with panic at the plan he had unintentionally wrought.
"Personally, I do not care who makes contact with Niima, whether it's sexual or otherwise," Phasma clarified. "Whoever proves successful at providing intelligence on the Gryffindor team will be an invaluable asset to the team who will be rewarded for their actions."
Ben, Hux, and Bala-Tik froze at that comment. Phasma's upcoming leave from Hogwarts had been looming over their minds for the past year or so, and if there was any way to get a leg up on the competition and be named captain next season, this might be it. Ben knew, as well as any other quidditch player with a brain, that you only had a shot of going professional if you were named captain at some point before year seven.
"Well, we are all glad to help!" Mitaka said, oblivious to the sudden increase in tension between the three power-hungry players. "So. Any, um, ideas about who you're going to get to fill the gaps for the first-string team?"
As Phasma began to drone on about new prospects and plans for tryouts, Ben could only focus on the fourth year Gryffindor he had (almost?) befriended during last year's debacle. Rey knew him well, might even trust him again after his help getting her the job at Kanata's shop. He could easily pick her brain for inside information if he could get her to continue midnight practices with him again. She'd hate him, of course, when she found out. But didn't she already hate him half of the time, anyway? Plus, there was no guarantee that she would ever know. He could keep a secret.
Still, there was the nagging whisper voice in the back of his head: Is being captain really worth the risk?
o-o-o
"Peanut!" Finn shouted as he opened the door to Rey's compartment with a dramatic bang, setting the windows rattling. "My sunshine! My stars! I have finally found you at last!"
"How many first years have you terrified by breaking into their compartments like that so far?" Rey said with a laugh.
"Too many to count," he admitted, smile stretching wide as he scooped Rey into a giant bear hug and roughly tousled her three buns until one of them came loose.
"Ugh! I don't see why I ever missed you!" Rey said as she pushed at him. She was still beaming, nonetheless, as she rearranged her hairstyle. Finn had grown taller, she noticed, his frame wider and, dare she say it, more muscular. Whatever training regimen he had undergone to prepare for quidditch tryouts must have been working. She whistled appreciatively at the definition in Finn's arms, and he couldn't help but blush with an awkward laugh.
"You look like a meathead, you know," Rey told him.
"Aw, I forgot how good you are at compliments," Finn said, poking at the middle of her forehead as she swatted his finger away. "Thanks, I guess. It's not too much right? Won't slow me down on my broom?"
"It's like you've surgically attached a cannon to your arm," Rey joked, once again prodding at the toned flesh of his bicep. "One toss from you, and you'll make any keeper run away screaming. How did you manage all this in one summer?"
"Just push-ups and some weights. Had to do it the muggle way with no magic and everything, so shut it and be proud."
"I am very much proud, you dolt," Rey admitted, taking a moment to help Finn drag his trunk into the compartment, though he really required little assistance thanks to his new build. "Have you told Poe you're trying out yet?"
"Not yet. Rose knows, though. Refused to owl me for a full two weeks then sent me a howler calling me a bloody traitor. Had to gift her an entire pound of fizzing whizbees before she finally forgave me for abandoning her in the stands."
"Sounds like Rose, alright," Rey said as she settled into a cushy seat, rummaged through her bag, and pulled out her own pack of whizbees that hummed in her hands. "Bought my own peace-offering, too. Any idea where she is?"
"At the door, ready to receive atonement, thank you!" Rose swooped in, her hair a bit shorter and flouncier than Rey had remembered as she plucked the sweets from Rey's hand with a grin. "How many of them do you think I can eat before I reach the ceiling?"
"Rose, please don't do this again," Finn said with a groan.
"It's not the Great Hall, though! It'll be much safer this time!"
"We're not dragging you into Hogwarts on a rope like some sort of helium balloon, Rose," Rey argued. "Usually we make it at least a day before Snoke starts taking points."
"Is Rose going for a new record, then?" Poe said as he appeared in the doorway, Jessica Pava in tow. "Fifth years! Such troublemakers! I tell you, Jess, we were never so barbaric."
"You got detention during the Start of Year Feast last year for enchanting an entire serving bowl of butterscotch pudding to rain over the Slytherin table," Jessica said with a roll of her eyes.
"And you helped."
"I did, indeed," she admitted with an evil grin. "Worth it. Though our respectable Mr. Dameron here needs to start acting all responsible now. Go ahead and tell them why, Poe."
Poe smiled his blinding smile and puffed himself up. "You're looking at-"
"You're quidditch captain, aren't you?" Rose interrupted, already sounding bored. The room fell silent to stare at her. "What? I mean, that's what he was going to say."
"I was going to do a speech, though," Poe said, his mood deflated as he flopped onto the seat next to Rey. Rose let out an indignant 'Hey!' as he snagged a fizzing whizbee from her hands, his rear levitating ever so slightly from the cushion below him as he chewed.
"Thank Merlin you interrupted, Rose," Rey said with a laugh. "We'll be getting enough motivational speeches before every match, won't we?"
"Before every moment we touch a broomstick, more like," Jessica agreed. "Holdo found him on the train and told him the news just a few minutes ago. He tried to give me a pep talk in the aisle while we walked here, the tosser."
"I'll have you know that I give excellent pep talks," Poe argued back. "Prepare to be inspired!"
"Tell it to the new recruits. I'm sure the two of them will be wee and innocent enough that they won't even notice how much of a windbag you are for at least the first few weeks," Jessica said as she, too, stole a whizbee from a grumbling Rose.
"Three, actually," Poe said, pulling out a worn notebook undoubtedly filled with frantics scribbles over the new line-up and corresponding plays for the year. Rey had the sneaking suspicion that he'd been writing in it for years, just waiting for the day to implement whatever latest version of 'Poe's Master Plan' he must be on. "Angira's parents transferred him to Durmstrang over the summer after he once again failed his OWLs. Thinks it's the fault of the teachers here rather than the fact that the bloke's been hit with so many quaffles to the head that he's been left simple. I've been thinking about talking Kaydel into trying out."
A sound of approval rang out from the compartment, Rey included. Guila Angira had been a decent enough keeper, but had been a bit of a loner who never quite gelled with the rest of the team. Kaydel Ko Konnix, on the other hand, had just barely missed making the team during tryouts the previous year. She was as quick on her broom as she was mentally and had always seemed more of a team player than Angira, despite only playing in a few unofficial pick-up games throughout the years.
"Any ideas for the other two positions?" Rose asked with a smirk as Finn subtly shoved an elbow into her gut.
"I heard Kor Sella's trying out for chaser," Poe said, too absorbed in his notes to notice Finn's posture suddenly stiffen. "Cal Kestris, too. Also, I heard some second year was interested in seeker, but I doubt they're ready to play this year unless they're really spectacular. Maybe I'll put them on second string to replace Rey since we moved her up…" He trailed off as he frantically scribbled in his notebook, crossing out some of his notes every few seconds.
"Sounds like you've got it all figured out," Finn said glumly.
"See! At least someone here has confidence in me!" Poe said, reaching over to pat Finn on the shoulder. He paused for a moment, feeling the muscle underneath. "Finn! What happened?"
"I, uh, worked out," he murmured, face reddening.
"Well, good on you, mate! Take note, Pava and Niima. These are the arms of an athlete! No chicken wings here!"
"Sorry, Poe, we'll start injecting steroids into our food tomorrow," Rey said with a roll of her eyes. Jessica, a half-blood whose muggle-born mother at least gave her a modicum of understanding in muggle health and science, tittered. The rest of the car, however, sat silent, the joke falling flat.
"Uh, if that works, I say go for it," Poe said. "Maybe get some stair-os for all of us, then?"
"Dameron, according to what I heard from Omera Krill, your balls couldn't handle any more shrinking," Jessica said with a snicker.
"Hey!" Poe argued, face growing hot. "Omera and I never—I mean, I'll have you know that everything there is perfectly proportional!"
"Sure, sure, loverboy!"
The rest of the train ride devolved into light teasing over Poe's previous relationships as well as several people trying to cop a feel on Finn's newly formed biceps. Rose (thankfully) never quite levitated all the way up to the ceiling, but she, Poe, and Jessica had accomplished a few simple aerial tricks as they hovered slightly above the others. At last, they could see Hogwarts castle looming in the distance as they came around the bend, it's flickering lights welcoming them as they drew ever nearer. Rey sighed internally, letting the warmth of her friends' company permeate her as they drew ever closer to the only place she could really call home.
o-o-o
"Four to a carriage only!" Professor Ackbar insisted as they approached the horseless carriages, faces falling as they heard his instruction.
"Please, Professor. There's only one extra!" Poe groaned.
"Rules are rules, Mr. Dameron," Ackbar insisted, peering down at Poe through his coke bottle glasses. "I'm not overstressing anymore thestrals today."
"Thestrals?" Rose muttered in confusion, but Finn seemed to pale at the word, his gaze focused on the empty air before the carriage ahead of them.
"Yes, Ms. Tico. With your O.W.L.s coming up this year, I do hope you pay a bit more attention in Care of Magical Creatures class," Ackbar said with a disappointed sigh. "I have heard that you've often misidentified quite a few things during your previous year. The castle walls have ears, Ms. Tico."
Rose's face turned red, likely remembering her assumption of Ackbar's son and his merman-like tendencies. She mumbled a feeble "Yes, Professor" as she entered the carriage, Jessica and Poe holding back laughter as they followed.
"Go ahead, Finn. I'll be fine," Rey told him as Finn hung back with her.
"I don't mind waiting with you," Finn insisted.
"Honestly, Finn. It's no problem. It looks like Bodhi Rook's group is one person short. I'll just hitch a ride with them."
"Good luck, then," he said, still skeptical, before boarding the carriage and saying goodbye with a feeble wave. Rey waved back with an exaggerated smile in an attempt to ease his discomfort before looking to find where Bodhi had been standing with a duo of Hufflepuffs just moments earlier.
"Left behind again, Niima?"
Rey rolled her eyes, turning around to see Ben Solo looming behind her, arms crossed and impatient as he waited for the next carriage. His hair was shaggier and curling near his shoulders, and he was a few more inches taller, Rey noted with annoyance. She couldn't help but wonder if he'd rival giant status by the end of his seventh year at the pace he was growing.
"I'd hardly call kindly allowing my friends to take the carriage ahead of me 'being left behind.'"
"You do that a lot, you know," Ben noted, taking a step forward. "Telling others to leave you behind. Why is that?"
"There was only room for four in the carriage. It's not that deep, Solo."
"You like to put a wedge between you and them."
"Oh, so now you're not only a moody bastard, but also a therapist?" Rey said with a genuine laugh. Ben looked at her blankly. "Therapists help muggles with their emotional and mental issues," Rey explained. "Half of Hogwarts could use a good one."
Ben hummed as if actually considering her claim, before finally responding, "So we need to get you to a store to buy yourself a threepeeist, then."
"Therapists aren't objects you buy, they're—" Rey halted with a sigh. "Listen. There wasn't enough room in the carriage and someone needed to stay. That's all. I know friendship is a foreign concept to most Slytherins, but other people conduct their lives with kindness towards those they care about." Rey waited for a biting retort, but only got a snort in response. Even Ben Solo could not deny the faulty ties between so-called Slytherin 'friendliness.'
"Friendships are overrated," Ben said, looking a bit bored. "It's all about who owes who and what you can get out of them as a result. Most of you Gryffindorks will realize that when you get out into the real world."
Rey felt a flash of anger for a moment, remembering the attempted snog on the pitch last year, but she quickly stifled it. Their conversation so far had been civil in comparison to their usual accounts, after all. Plus, it was all thanks to Ben she was able to afford to fly again, and she couldn't help but feel a begrudging sense of gratitude towards him.
"What a sad life you must lead, Ben Solo," Rey responded with instead as she craned her neck, trying to find Bodhi Rook's group once again.
"Well," Ben finally said. "Come on, then. Looks like an empty carriage parked just down the road. We can grab it if we're quick." He grabbed for her hand, but Rey quickly pulled away.
"I was actually going to see if I could hitch a ride with Bodhi's group."
Ben had been reaching for Rey's hand again, but he abruptly stopped.
"Why?"
"Rook's a nice bloke and his friends seem like a good lot."
"Rook's a wreck who doesn't know his boundaries," Ben argued, his eyes narrowing and his voice suddenly biting. "Not worth your time."
"He's nice, Solo," Rey argued, searching again for the boy in question.
"Too nice," Ben said, reaching out and turning Rey back to face him. Rey resisted the urge to smack his hand as he gripped her. "Nice boys always want something."
"Once again, not everyone is a Slytherin."
"Of course not," Ben said with a bitter laugh as his grip tightened. "After all, nothing more terrible to be than a Slytherin, am I right? Too bad we can't all be spineless little Hufflepuffs like Bodhi Rook."
"What is wrong with you?" Rey demanded, ripping her body away from Ben's clutches. "One minute you're helping me get a summer job, the next you're mad I actually had the audacity to get along with my co-workers at said job. You are utterly impossible to keep up with!"
"All I'm saying is Rook's not that great. You could do better."
"I prefer to choose my own friends, thank you," Rey said with a sniff. "Now excuse me as I find where his group went to."
"Rook second guesses himself constantly on the pitch. He lacks confidence, Niima. Also, his carriage just left," Ben noted, a wicked grin settling on his face.
Rey groaned, gazing forlornly as Bodhi's group, indeed, made their way down the road. As the final carriage made it's approach, she considered just walking her way to the castle. Rose insisted the area was infested with acromantulas, but surely she was once again stretching the truth? Knowing her luck, though, she'd be spider food by morning. With a begrudging sigh, Rey entered the carriage with Ben following uncomfortably close behind. Inwardly, she prayed that whatever stick up his bum Ben had gotten over Bodhi Rook had disappeared, and they could have themselves a nice, civil conversation for once.
"Did Hux try to talk to you on the train? Or Bala Tik?"
Considering the sudden frostiness in his voice, it did not seem likely. She eyed him suspiciously. "Why would they?"
"Like I said before: nice guys always want something."
Rey gave a noncommittal snort as the carriage lurched forward. She caught herself, thankfully, instead of sprawling headfirst towards Ben Solo's laps. She reddened at the thought and saw the corners of Ben's mouth turn slightly downwards.
"I'm just saying that if they act any differently? Don't trust them," Ben warned.
"Well, what about you, then?" Rey responded. "You're nice. Sometimes. Actually, no, I take that back. You're a right git."
Ben grinned. "Exactly. Which means you can trust me to tell the truth. You're welcome."
"Arsehole," Rey said with a laugh. "I am thankful, though. For your help with the summer job. Maz's place was great!"
"I didn't do much."
"Gave up your job working there for me," Rey responded, causing Ben to jump in a way that was almost cute.
"I just didn't want to get stuck slaving away there for another summer," Ben muttered, his face turning red. "Too much else to do."
"Like?"
"Quidditch," Ben responded, and Rey fought the urge to scoff. Of course that was his answer. "That and avoiding my mum and all her fundraiser dinners. Did you know there's a charity for Nundu Oral Health and Protection? Nasty things. Breath can flatten a whole village and they want to brush their teeth."
"Most rich people have more money than they know what to do with, I suppose," said Rey dryly.
"Speaking of more money than knowing what to do with," Ben started, suddenly looking uneasy. "What broomstick have you decided to spend your well-earned galleons on? Hopefully one with a seatbelt to keep you from falling on your arse."
"Ha," Rey responded humorlessly. "Not sure yet, actually. Holdo's managed to change the schedule around so that I can pick one up during the first Hogsmeade visit. So congrats! You can live out whatever fantasy feud you've decided to have against Bodhi Rook during your first match instead of facing us! Use his head as a quaffle, or whatever it is you Slytherins do."
Ben was silent for a moment, as if considering something, his eyes dark and stormy. Rey merely rolled her eyes and leaned her head against the back of the carriage feeling a migraine come on as they rumbled down the uneven path. Of course, Ben Solo's sense of humor had disappeared once again. Git.
"He really isn't very good at Quidditch," Ben finally responded. "And he's a Hufflepuff."
"And?"
"And," Ben said, seeming to fumble for his words for a moment, "He'd be a bad influence on you. Hang out with him and you'll turn into a loser, too."
"Excuse me?" Rey demanded, feeling her migraine begin to worsen.
"No, it just won't do," Ben continued, ignoring Rey's outburst. "You'll just have to keep training with me if you want to get anywhere in the professional league."
"I told you I don't even think I want to go pro!"
"But you will," Ben insisted. "We'll make sure of that. Your Gryffindor friend with the black hair, the tiny one who likes to yell, she's the only one who knew about us training on the pitch, right? You can swear her to secrecy, I'm hoping. Otherwise, your new team captain is going to avada kedavra me on the spot."
"Poe would never use an unforgivable!" Rey scoffed, eyes narrowing.
"I suppose he'd make you run laps or something if he found out," Ben continued, barely paying attention to Rey's outbursts. "Pointless. After all, flying-based drills are usually more effective. Just have to be a little more creative to make them unpleasant. We saw that flying suicides last year did wonders to improve your response time when changing directions. We'll start with those. This Sunday. Midnight."
"Fine!" Rey shouted, crossing her arms and hoping that Ben's bombardment would finally end. After all, she couldn't deny that the private sessions with him had been very effective for her skills. Why he'd want to continue coaching her after everything last year, though, she had no idea. "But on one condition."
"Name it," Ben breathed out, his gaze intense.
"You come with to buy my broom during our first Hogsmeade trip," Rey insisted, feeling an unexplainable blush come to her cheeks. "You know more about them than I do, after all. Plus, it'll be fun to force you to pick the broom I'm going to use to kick your arse in our next match."
Ben grinned and leaned backwards in his seat as they inched ever closer to the castle. Rey had the sinking feeling that he just received everything he'd hoped for.
o-o-o
That night after he'd unpacked, Ben wrote out three bulleted points on a piece of parchment before sliding it into Phasma's hand in the Slytherin common room. She grinned, her steel-gray eyes flashing as she read over the three details recorded in the note:
Schedule's changed due to Niima's need for a new broom. We'll be facing Hufflepuff first, not Gryffindor.
Dameron is, just like we thought, the new Gryffindor captain. Wanker.
Expect more information on a weekly basis. Niima doesn't suspect a thing.