The Order of Mischief I

1.10

She nodded, "Yeah, but I burned mine out of boredom."

James shook his head, "Of course you did."

"What's that supposed to mean? You don't even know me!" She was defensive as she entered the game pitch. He mounted his boom at the same time that she did hers.

"Anya, I do not mean anything bad with that," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before raising off the ground. "I burnt mine too, as did my roommates. Well, everyone but Remus."

She nodded, choosing to ignore him. He noticed her change in moods and made no effort to hold a conversation with her, "Let's just go through our usual class drills. Ten laps around the arena first. On the count of three."

One. Two. Three.

James and Anya raced against each other, sometimes slowing down before simultaneously trying to get ahead of the other. Three laps had been completed with competitive aggression and the two of them were stubbornly starting to freeze as they desperately wanted to prove that they were better than the other. By the fifth lap, the pair had started to push one another playfully, trying to slow the other down rather than increase their own pace.

"Zion!" Potter shouted as she flew past him too quickly. Her eyes were on him as he gawked and watched her broom fly through one of the metal rings on the far end. Her head almost hit the metal, until she looked ahead on time and ducked her head, flying through the goal in a slouched position. James flew right after her, avoiding the rings as he caught up to her, where she hovered on her broom. He placed a hand on her back and rubbed it, comfortingly, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Thanks. That was scary."

"I am sorry, this was a terrible idea. Let's get you on the ground." She did not argue as their brooms slowly descended and her feet touched the ground. He landed further away from her and dismounted his broom, running towards her.

"I am fine," she stated, smiling as she looked at him. He looked at her, clearly still worried. And she did not like it, so she changed the subject, "I lied to you. Earlier, I mean."

He stood still, confused about what she was talking about. So, Anya explained herself , "I was sneaking out of the library, trying to figure out the perfect prank to pull on my cousins."

He raised a brow, "You only pull some on them?"

"Sometimes, not often. They're harmless and inevitable, so it's fun. But you were right, the ink prank was Phoebe and I. She makes the process fun as we brain storm and find fool-proof ways to pull them off."

"What about the fight between your roommates?"

"Not real," she smiled, apologetically, "I needed a cover story."

"Do they know about this?" He asked, and she nodded. He smiled, "I cannot find it in me to be mad about it, even though we got blamed for it."

She shrugged, and mounted her broom, hovering an inch above the ground to encourage him to continue training.

"So what's the next one about?" James asked, holding his broom between his legs as they slowly rose off the ground, staring at each other as they positioned themselves opposite one another.

"I have no idea yet, but I plan to figure that out before Halloween," she informed him. He wanted to ask her more questions about it, but he knew that it would be better off if he let her keep the secret. He contemplated using her deadline for a prank of his own, with the help of his friends. Either way, him and Sirius would get the blame for it, so, he might as well get detention for a prank he played alongside her.

His eyes twinkled with mischief as he smiled, "I look forward to it, princess."

♠