Chapter three

Elle awoke bright and early on Sunday morning, excited for a chance to fly. She was particularly excited by the idea of flying with James Potter, because he was a member of a Quidditch team, and thus had access to the Quidditch shed – where practice balls and other training materials were stored. Dodging branches and tossing the deflated football she'd stolen from Miss Heidi's dog didn't really compare to quaffles and bludgers. She was keen to see if any of her training had truly paid off. Despite her denials to Isidre, she was toying with the idea of attending Quidditch tryouts. Ravenclaw was looking for two new chasers (one active and one reserve), according to a posting that had been tacked onto the common room bulletin last night. It was pretty uncommon for a second year to make the quidditch team however, so she wanted to test out her skills before she committed. There was no point in making a fool of herself.

Unfortunately, when Elle arose from her bed, she noticed the rain pelting the windows of her new dorm. Ruth was already sitting on the edge of her bed, pulling on her new black boots. Ruth noticed Elle's sigh and, reading her mind correctly, said "I'd get ready just in case. Some of them might still be game to go out for a bit." Elle nodded, but privately disagreed. Scorpius was a fair-weather flyer – evidenced by his convenient illnesses last year every time their lessons had fallen on a day with temperatures below freezing. Still, Elle headed to the great hall with her broom in hand. She spotted Albus and Scorpius almost immediately.

Predictably, Scorpius was not wearing clothes appropriate for flying. Albus however, had his eyes trained upwards to the ceiling, scowling at the fat droplets of rain that disappeared before they landed on his breakfast and readjusting his thick scarf. His broom was leaning on the wall behind him. Elle grinned at Albus, who did not return the expression. Isidre and Sam soon joined them opposite, and Elle raised her eyebrows questioningly at Isidre, but he shook his head. "Not a chance" he said, gesturing up to the ceiling. "Oh, come on Isidre, you know what they say!

Gusts or gails,

The quaffle sails

Snow or sleet,

The beaters beat…"

"Rain or shine

THE SNITCH IS MINE!"

James Potter's voice cut in to finish the rhyme as he sat down next to Isidre, banging his mug of pumpkin juice against the table. Albus looked like he was trying to set fire, with his eyes, to James' already flaming hair. James smiled back at Albus, unperturbed. "I didn't know you were a Chuddley Canons fan, Elle" he said. Elle laughed "I'm not, but I did read Quidditch Throughout the Ages last year, and their chant is an earworm that hasn't left me since." James Potter raised an eyebrow questioningly at her response, and Elle blushed. Earworm was probably a muggle term that sounded a bit odd without context.

"Well, we best be off" James said, pushing to his feet. "You coming, worm brain?" he shot over his shoulder to Elle, who grabbed her broom. She turned to her seated friends, saying "last chance!" No one took her up on the offer. Sighing, she followed Albus and his brother out of the dining hall.

Even Elle, who loved the idea of practising flying in bad weather (should she make the team… not that it was likely that she would… she would need to know how to fly in all conditions, she thought) regretted her decision as soon as she left the warmth of the castle. The wind was howling around the countryside, and rain was pelting her from every direction. James looked to her and Albus, and Elle realized he was waiting for one of them to throw in the towel. She glanced at Albus and saw that he had realized the same. The two set their mouths into matching grim lines, and stubbornly made their way towards the field.

"Are we going to get a quaffle" Elle yelled over the roar of the wind. "WHAT" James yelled back. "A. QUAFFLE" Elle yelled back. "A WAFFLE?" James asked, looking confused. Elle, frustrated, pointed to the quidditch shed to their left. "OH. NO. ALBUS ISN'T READY FOR THAT." Elle nodded, though she was very disappointed. The three students entered the Quidditch pitch and found a brief reprieve from the rain under the fan stands. Elle took the opportunity to quickly cast a drying spell over hers and Albus' robes. James turned to them, his hair sopping wet over his forward. It was the first time Elle had ever seen his hair lay flat on his head. "A little wet for you two?" Albus shook his head. "We're coming" he said, setting off before Elle had the opportunity to cast the spell she had really wanted to cast, "hydrophobos" on his flying robes. Aiming carefuly, she shot the spell at Albus' back, but it was clear that she had missed, and hit his scarf instead, because a few second later the fabric started sticking wetly against his back. She looked at the two brothers, who were jostling shoulders as they headed off to the center of the pitch and decided not to call them back. Elle sighed "boys" she muttered, shaking her head.

With her clever charm cast, the rain ceased to soak through her jumper, and started rolling off her body instead. Albus and James were bickering over flying etiquette, and Elle left them to it. It was clear that there was something going on between them, and Elle didn't feel like playing referee. She was going to get some flying practice in, even if her hopes of practising with a real Quaffle had been dashed.

Elle rose up on her broom quickly, relishing in the thrill she felt as the air rushed past her ears. She took off slowly at first, getting a feel for how the harsh winds affected her broom as she flew a few warm-up laps. Albus and James were much farther below her. James appeared to be trying to get Albus to weave through a series of collapsible wooden poles he had produced from an interior pocket of his flying robes. Albus was not having much success. He had improved over the summer – it looked like he could now reliably fly in a straight line, but he still couldn't turn at will.

Confident that she had gotten a feel for how the wind was affecting her turns, Elle started to speed up her flying. She quickly zoomed around the pitch a few times, trying to shave off a few seconds with each lap. She was in the zone now, and barely even noticed the rain spraying off her robes or the wind trying to knock her off her broom, should she be caught off guard. Inspired by the feeling of the wind pulling at her clothes, Elle executed a perfect barrel roll, coming out of it to soar higher above the pitch. She had the feeling in her chest that she used to get when she reached the highest point in the trees she climbed, or the topmost arc of her swings on the playground. It was pure joy.

Laughing, Elle pulled her broom up until it was nearly vertical, and then, just as she was about to lose control and topple off, she aimed the nose of her broom down, and started her dive towards the earth. The wind and sky and bleachers blurred together as Elle came down, down, down. She counted to three after she had the feeling that she should bail out, a tip that she'd read in How to Master the Wronski Feint and 100 Other Quidditch Maneuvers, the only non-school related purchase she'd made in her brief trip to Diagon Alley with Miss Heidi over the summer. Grinning, she pulled out of the dive with only about two meters to spare.

Pulling her broom level, she made her way to the ground, where she had spotted Albus and James waving to her. "Did you do that on purpose Elle?" Albus shouted over the din of the storm. Elle nodded, her cheeks flushed. The long plait that she'd had down her back had come undone, and now her hair was whipping around her face, but she barely noticed. "I didn't know you could fly like that" James shouted. Elle stuck her tongue out at him, annoyed by the surprise in his voice. "Hold on a second, how are you dry?" Albus shouted, pointing to Elle's jumper, still light grey despite the torrential downpours around her.

Elle was about to reply, when the wind finally managed to sneak its fingers around Albus in the way it had been fighting to do since he'd left the castle. The scarf that Elle had accidentally charmed, not weighed down by water, was pulled free from around his neck, and was quickly soaring overhead. Elle locked eyes with James, who was already kicking off his broom. "Race ya" Elle shouted, launching into the sky in pursuit of the scarf.

Elle and James set off, each urging their broom as if it were a racehorse. "The wind is mine to ride" Elle murmured. Though James was a faster flyer, he didn't have as good of a feel for the wind, and twice Elle successfully read the way the scarf would be thrown, when he was successfully deked. The scarf was now in her reach, and Elle outstretched her hand, turning to grin at James. Instead of seeing his reaction to him losing, she saw him pull out his wand. Elle's hand grasped only air where the scarf should have been. He'd transfigured the scarf into a Quaffle, which was now plummeting towards the earth. Cursing, Elle dived, taking a sharper angle to beat James' lead. The two flyers were now neck and neck, but the ground was fast approaching. Elle's one, two, three, count came and went, and she was still diving. She was just about to reach the Quaffle. Elle was so focused didn't even notice how close the ground was. Rudely, a hand jerked the nose of her broom upwards. James had pulled both of them out of the dive, but the unexpected movement had caused both of them to lose balance. He hadn't let go of Elle's broom, and the two crashed into a bed of soft flowers at the very edge of the herbology greenhouses.

Laughing, Elle rolled up, holding the Quaffle she'd caught as if it were the house cup. "I win" Elle gloated. James sat up, rubbing the dirt off his face. "Are you insane? I just saved your neck, pulling you out of that dive." Elle shrugged "I had time. And I wouldn't have had to dive if you hadn't cheated in the first place." James didn't reply. Elle followed his gaze to her abdomen, where the rough landing had caused her jumper to ride up slightly. She blushed, pulling the grey fabric over the bruises on her ribs. The most recent one was a dark purple, but there were others, some lighter pink, others green, and the oldest ones yellow. All had been from Killian or his cronies over the last few weeks of the summer.

If James had been about to comment on what he'd seen, Elle never found out, because right at that moment they were interrupted by a shriek. "My heather!" cried out a voice. Elle turned guiltily to the voice. Professor Longbottom was approaching them, looking distraught. James immediately sprung to his feet. "Sorry Professor, we lost control." "Oh. James" the older man said, sighing. "Please be more careful." "Of course, Professor" he said, stepping off the flowers and giving Elle a pointed look to do the same, which she did immediately. "Is there any way we can help?" He asked, as Professor Longbottom got to his knees to inspect the damage. "I was about to harvest these anyways, it's the roots I need, and those are still intact" he murmured. Elle was unsure if he was talking to himself or to her and James. "I suppose you did no harm" he said, getting to feet again. "It would be appropriate to leave you with a warning this time. Flying is prohibited in the radius of of ten meters from the castle walls, including the greenhouses." Elle and James nodded vigorously. "Yes professor, of course. The wind must have blown us off course" James replied, smiling sweetly. Professor Longbottom nodded "yes, it's no weather to be out flying in. You two best return to the castle, before you have any more accidents."

Elle managed to keep her face from cracking into a smile until they had their backs turned from the Professor, but just barely. Once they were out of earshot, she cheered "that was close one" she said. James smiled easily "no sweat. He knows my parents- he would have never given me detention." Elle laughed "Stop boasting. You're much more tolerable when you're groveling, James Potter." The two spotted Albus at this point, who was jogging towards them. "Where the bloody hell did you two go" he said when he finally caught up to them, panting. "And where's my scarf?" "Oh yeah" James said, grabbing the Quaffle from Elle and returning it to its original form with a tap of his wand. It was some impressive transfiguration work, even if the ball had stayed its original emerald green. Albus snatched the scarf from his brother's hands. "Do I want to know?" he asked, looking to Elle. She shook her head.

"Just know that I won, and he lost" she said, jerking her head towards James. Albus smiled at that. "Music to my ears" he said, just as they entered the castle. "I let her win" James shot back, but Albus didn't buy it. "Outflown by a second year" he said laughing. James huffed, and headed off towards his common room without another word. Albus laughed heartily. "Good one, Elle" he said, as he too headed off to his common room to change out of his sopping wet clothes. Elle smiled "anytime" she replied.

Elle was heading to the Ravenclaw common room herself, thinking only of a hot shower before lunch when she was interrupted by a sharp call. Turning towards the source of her name, she was surprised to see Professor Blanco approaching her with wide strides. "I've just been to the staff room, Miss Williams. I heard a very interesting story involving some wild heather?" Elle sighed, knowing that getting off without a punishment was too good to be true. To her shock however, the Professor cracked a wide smile. "If what Nevill- Professor Longbottom says is true, I hope you'll be trying out for the Quidditch team. I'm not supposed to play favourites, being a referee, but Ravenclaw was my old house you know" he said.

"I err.. was thinking about it" Elle said, smiling. "Good" said Professor Blanco clapping her on the back. Elle almost floated the rest of the way up to the Ravenclaw tower. Humming to herself, she dug into her trunk to retrieve the shower towel she'd stowed at the bottom. A piece of parchment floated to the ground as she shook the towel free. Frowning, Elle lent over to grab the paper. Immediately, all thoughts of Quidditch left her mind as she read the first few words: "My Dearest Elle,"

It was her mother's handwriting.

p.s. I apologize for the slower updates for the next two weeks – it's exam season. More regular updates can be expected after Christmas