Summary: Katie Bell tries to teach Romilda Vane how to fly on a broom for reasons beyond her.

Genre: Humor, Friendship

Rated: K

Warning Tag: N/A

The Exercise in Flying

"Psst!"

The quiet, nasally noise came from nearby but Katie Bell simply ignored it. She really couldn't be distracted from this essay anymore than she already had been. Besides, she thought the library was supposed to be a quiet place.

"Pst! Katie!"

She sighed heavily from hearing her name. Quickly doing a scan of the area around her, she spotted the person trying to get her attention from across the aisle. It was not like Romilda Vane was trying to hide the fact it was her, either, as she was blatantly looking right at her when their eyes met.

The younger witch gestured to Katie to come over to her table. Letting out a sigh, she gathered her things and moved across the way, not sure why she even decided to oblige in the first place.

"What's up, Romilda?"

The two shared a friend or two in their social circles, but Katie didn't really know Romilda all that well considering that they were a year apart. They were acquaintances at best, so it had her wondering what she wanted from her in the first place.

"You're pretty good at flying, right?" Romilda whispered, glancing down the aisle to see if anyone was coming.

Katie had to refrain from snorting. She wasn't a chaser on Gryffindor's quidditch team for kicks. "A fair bit, yeah."

"Oh, that's good." The fourth year bit her lip, not seeming to want to continue her train of thought.

Growing a bit impatient, Katie rubbed at her brow before deciding to find out what this disruption was about. "So, is that it? Because I really need to study for my OWLs."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to bother you. I was just… just wondering if…" Romilda swallowed hard. "Would you mind teaching me?"

"Teach you what? How to fly?"

The curly-haired witch nodded, shifting in her seat as she looked around some more. Katie sighed, fiddling with a strand of her own dark hair as she contemplated a response. "I don't know, Romilda. I have my OWLs coming up and—"

"Please?"

Romilda gave her strange, pleading eyes. Obviously, this request meant a lot to her for some reason, and Katie couldn't think of other ways to say no without actually saying it. Instead, she let out a defeated breath and nodded slowly.

"Fine. One lesson. Meet me at the quidditch pitch Saturday after breakfast, okay?"

The strange squeal that came from Romilda unnerved Katie. Why did she agree to this with no explanation from her end again?

.oOo.

Katie checked her watch and looked around the empty pitch for a sign of life. Romilda was running late as expected, but she had been standing out in the freezing morning air for fifteen minutes. She decided to wait for at least five more before taking to the skies. At least she could use it as an excuse for a quick practice and feel less foolish for being tricked by the silly witch.

Before Katie gave up on her and flew off, she spotted Romilda trudging over to her in a sleepy mess. The normally pristine looking witch had bedhead and no makeup on. Her rumpled robes seemed carelessly thrown on in a haste to not be late.

Katie placed a hand on her hip and took her in with amusement. "Overslept?"

Romilda covered her mouth as she yawned deeply. "Yeah, sorry. I almost forgot about our arrangement, but I really didn't want to miss it. I'm not late, am I?"

"I just got here, myself," Katie lied, not wanting to hurt her feelings. "Flying on an empty stomach is probably not the best way to start your morning. Here."

Katie pulled an extra granola bar she brought with her from her pocket and offered it to her. "I always have extra. It takes a lot of energy to fly."

"Got it. Thanks!" Romilda accepted the fruit infused granola and modestly picked away at it while Katie jumped into the basics.

"I brought my broom so you have something decent to use. The school brooms are just atrocious." Katie made a face to reinforce her statement. "So you don't have to worry about it being unpredictable or anything."

"Perfect!"

Romilda approached the broom lying on the ground, picked it up, and mounted it. Katie gaped at her.

"So, you just want to jump on in, huh?"

Romilda shrugged. "I know enough that I won't die. So, teach me how to do this."

Katie swatted stray hairs out of her face. "Okay, then."

An hour flew by and Romilda had only been comfortable enough to hover a few centimeters from the ground. She then would accidently push the broom to lurch forward and it shot out from underneath her while she toppled to the ground, getting hit with the bristles in the meantime. Katie decided a break was in order as she sat down beside Romilda who just had fallen off the broom again.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. I don't remember this being so difficult my first year. But then again, I wasn't very good at it then, either," Romilda said with a sigh, rubbing the arm she partially landed on a moment ago. "It's why I dropped the class this year."

"So what made you want to get back into it?" Katie asked while rummaging through her book bag for some water.

"You'll think it's stupid."

"Try me."

Romilda fidged with the offered water flask Katie handed her. The chaser took a long drink of her own while waiting for an explanation.

"I read in a Witch Weekly magazine that flying a broom was great for one's physique and so… I figured why not try it?"

Katie almost snorted out her water from the sudden urge to laugh. Using her arm to cover and wipe her mouth, she finished swallowing before properly chuckling. "They really wrote that?"

The curly-haired witch nodded sheepishly, trailing a hand over the soft spring grass.

"Well, they aren't wrong. But to make it sound like it could be someone's new daily work-out on a whim is a bit of a stretch. I'm sure there are other ways you can exercise that doesn't involve the risk of falling to your death," Katie said with another laugh while gently nudging the other girl with an elbow.

Romilda didn't find the statement funny at all. She turned away and let her unkept curls hide her face. Katie felt bad for making a joke out of it.

"I'm sorry." She placed a light hand on the other girls arm. "Hey, if you want something like that I could show you our pre-warm up workout regimen. That might suit you better. What do you say?"

Romilda finally looked at Katie, the embarrassment no longer having her avoid the other girl. "Really? I didn't know you guys had a pre-workout you had to do."

Katie got to her feet and brushed off her racing trousers before offering a hand to the other witch. "Oh, definitely. Got to stay limber while flying. C'mon, let's give it a go."

Accepting the outstretched hand, Romilda seemed to have a fresh boost of confidence at the gracious offer. The girls quickly got to work, Katie smiled fondly as the other girl repeated the basic stretches and exercises used to keep a quidditch player's body loose and agile.

That day the two became a little bit closer.

Originally Written For:

The Houses Competition

Monthly Challenges for All

Word Count: 1,231

Originally Written: March 2018