Between the Cracks // 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓵𝓮𝔂

15. Hogwarts' Newest Quidditch Celebrity

Fred seemed to notice. "It's not scary, promise. It's freeing." He swiftly got on the broom, immediately hovering above the ground as if it was second nature. Slowly, he circled her, smiling at her slightly as she followed his movements.

He stepped off, holding the broom out towards her. "Now you."

She looked at him for a moment, an expression of defeat taking over her features. "Do I have to?" She whined, and he chuckled at her tone.

"No, but you'll feel great if you do." He eyed her with a cheery expression, anticipating her next move.

She seemed to contemplate it for a moment, looking from the broom to Fred, to the massive goalposts above them. She didn't have to fly high up, she knew that. Just a bit of flying, hovering around for a bit. She could do that - might embarrass herself to death, but she could do that.

Finally, she sighed. She bet he was right. It would probably feel nice with the wind in her hair. It was nice weather, and the summer was coming to an end. If any time was a good time to do something stupid, it was now. "Fine. But any bodily injuries are your fault."

He laughed, but accepted the responsibility. "Fine, fine. I'm sure you're not that bad."

She raised an eyebrow at him as her hand grasped the broom. "Oh, you'll be surprised, Weasley."

Fred didn't reply, but simply took a step back and watched her with a humorous expression as she held the broom with two hands, slowly raising from the ground. The silence was probably a good thing, since Leigh hadn't felt this focused in months. The broom wobbled slightly, and she let out a faint 'woah' as she attempted to steady it. "God, I've forgotten everything about this," she mumbled quietly.

"And you're supposed to be good at classes. Yet here you are, forgetting course material."

She couldn't fight a smile at his stupid reply. "Shut it."

He snickered at her response and watched her rise, slowly, through the air.

"Try do a bit of a lap. Not too high. If you actually fall off and I have to carry you back to the hospital wing McGonagall will kill me."

She let out a giggle, envisioning McGonagall smacking him, like she probably had done many times before. "Even more reason to do it," she teased, glancing down at him, who was standing quite a distance below her at this point.

She slowly steered the broom around, the wind whipping in her hair. He was right - she had to admit it was a bit freeing. She sped up slightly, her hands tightening their grip as the ride gradually became smoother. Carefully she sped up, opting to loop around the bottom of the goalposts.

"It's not so bad, now is it?" Fred's voice was heard from below, and Leigh shook her head slightly, although she was sure he wasn't able to see it.

Her stomach fluttered as she did a dive towards the ground, surprising herself with the control she seemed to have over the broom. The wind swept through her hair and the fresh air filled her lungs.

Suddenly, Fred's voice was booming across the pitch, as if he was speaking in a microphone, and Leigh abruptly whipped her head around to see what was going on. "What the–"

Her gaze caught sight of him. He was standing plainly on the grass, holding his wand to the side of his neck. "We are kicking off with a new addition to the team: Leigh Conway! Aaand we're off!"